A Family Experience of being Bullied

March 22, 2016

Hosted by Dr. Gordon Atherley

Guest Information

Episode Description

As Chief Advocate at K&A Inc., http://kealeyandassociates.com/, Marc Kealey is a leading voice for transformation in health care. He talks about his family, the experience of being bullied, the ways the bullying occurred, and its effects on his family. He says as much as he can about the apparent motives of the bullies. He discusses bullying, especially as it affects families, in healthcare, politics, and internet safety, sectors in which he has wide professional experience. For these sectors he explains what needs to be done to counter bullying that does or could occur, especially as it does or could affect families. He says what more he would like to do and to see done and by whom to counter bullying and its effects on families that do or could occur in healthcare. He comments on the helpfulness of VoiceAmerica`s talk show Family Caregivers Unite for people who have experienced bullying.

Family Caregivers Unite!

Archives Available on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel

Family caregivers are the people who provide care to partners, parents, children, brothers, sisters, cousins, friends, neighbors and even co-workers. They are the people who provide care when everyone else has gone home.
They are the people who organize the functioning of the home for the person with special needs, and for the family as a whole. They are the coordinators of care, the managers of appointments, the preventers of loneliness, and the makers of decisions even to the point of Power of Attorney.
And they are so often people who themselves are burdened with their own health challenges and who may be in only marginally better health than the persons to whom they are providing family caregiving.

Dr. Gordon Atherley

Dr Gordon Atherley holds the British equivalent of the Canadian PhD and MD degrees, and LLD, Honoris Causa, from Canada’s Simon Fraser University. His awards include Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, UK. His medical specialties are occupational medicine and public health.
As first President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, the Canadian equivalent of the US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, he led the creation of Canada’s electronic information service in occupational health and safety, now used in more than 40 countries.
In academia, he held senior, tenured, full-time positions, including departmental chair, in university faculties of physics, engineering, and medicine. He is the author of a textbook and numerous articles and publications.

Since retiring from medical practice, he’s built up Greyhead Associates, which critically researches the safety, effectiveness and fairness of health services for persons with special needs.
Through Virtual Care International, a company of which he’s President, he’s involved in providing sensible technology to family caregivers to help them with their responsibilities, workloads, and concerns.
Now an activist, he urges family caregivers to unite because, more and more, it’s not just their families who depend on them, it’s also the healthcare system as a whole, as it struggles to meet more and more needs of more and more people.

3/1/2016: Gene Editing for Individuals and their Families and Family Caregivers
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John G. Abbott

John G. Abbott is Chief Executive Officer, the Health Council of Canada. His prior experience includes Deputy Minister of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Department of Health and Community Services where he oversaw the re-organization of the province’s system of regional health authorities and the expansion of the provincial drug program to meet the needs of low-income families and those with high drug costs. He’s also held the positions of Assistant Secretary to the Treasury Board, Associate Deputy Minister of Health and Community Services, Chairman and CEO of the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation, Deputy Minister of Works, Services and Transportation and Deputy Minister of Municipal and Provincial Affairs. He holds a BA in Political Science and Economics and an MA in Public Administration. His services in Newfoundland and Labrador were recognized with the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Excellence in Public Administration by The Institute of Public Administration of Canada. View Guest page

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Angela Arsenio

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Steve Arterburn

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Karen Arts

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Craig Asano

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David Ashdown

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Ian Ashworth

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Dr. Gordon Atherley

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Dr. Jehannine Austin

Dr. Jehannine Austin, http://www.bcmhari.ca/faculty/austin-jehannine.php, is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, a Research Scientist at the BC Mental Health and Addictions Institute, and graduate advisor for the UBC Genetic Counseling program. She holds the Canada Research Chair in Translational Psychiatric Genomics.

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Dr. Dorothy Badry

Dr. Dorothy Badry, PhD, RSW, is an associate professor in the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary. Her doctoral dissertation, ‘Becoming a Birth Mother of a Child with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome’, reviewed the lives of 8 women between the ages of 25 and 60 who all had given birth to one or more children diagnosed with the Syndrome.

She currently focuses on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in various research projects. She’s co-chair of the Education and Training Council of the Alberta FASD Cross Ministry Committee. A registered social worker, she’s a long-standing member of the Prairie Child Welfare Consortium and the Network Action Team on Women's Determinants of Health with the Canada FASD Research Network.

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Susan Baida

Susan Baida, eCareDiary.com’s Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, is a certified Geriatric Scholar and former Fortune 500 marketing executive. She brings to the company a wealth of experience in consumer and online marketing. She knows first-hand the challenges of caring for elderly parents and family members with serious illnesses. For 7 years, she cared for her grandmother who suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis. She also coordinates care for her aging parents. She and her husband, John Mills, cared for his father during his final years with Parkinson’s disease, an experience that led to the founding of eCareDiary.com. Having worked in industries that are responsive to consumer needs, she was shocked to find that healthcare and long-term care systems are not oriented toward the end user. It became her mission to bring fragmented aspects of elder care under one roof and to empower families with practical tools and information. View Guest page

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Kim Banting

Kim Banting is a Registered Nutritional Consultant. She graduated from Global College of Natural Medicine with honours and is a member in good standing with the International Organization of Nutritional Consultants. She began her own business, Flourish, in 2009. Previously, she worked as a personal chef. She was inspired to make a career change while working with a client using a whole-foods diet and an elimination process to target food sensitivities. Witnessing his health improvements over a period of weeks convinced her to return to school and marry her passion for food with optimal wellness. Now she strives to educate her clients about the impact food has on their individual health. She emphasizes that while a particular food may be health-promoting for one person, it may detrimental for another. She believes that it is possible to improve any health condition by choosing the correct food for to suit the person’s biochemical individuality. http://is.gd/nAw32K
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Ernie Bart

Ernie Bart is an Artbeat Studio Board member. He has been active in this role since 2005. His contributions to the organization have been in the area of program and project development. He has worked intensively on both the “Studio Central” and “Upbeat Artworks” projects. He earned a Masters Degree in Educational Administration from the University of Manitoba in 2003. He retired from a career in Education in 2011. He is grateful for the opportunity in his current role at Artbeat Studio to work alongside his son Nigel and the most creative people he has ever met. He claims having raised a family of five amazing boys with his wife Lucille as his greatest life accomplishment.
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Lucille Bart

Lucille Bart, BA, is Executive Director of Artbeat Studio Inc., a community based, consumer-initiated, and peer-directed program. It provides social supports, free working art studio and gallery space, and mentorship for recovery and empowerment of individuals living with mental illness. It’s committed to decreasing stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness and poverty through positive action, mental health education and advocacy. She co-founded Artbeat as a non-profit, charitable organization in 2005 with her son Nigel, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 19. He’s since used various forms of art to deal with the illness and stigma that surrounds it. Over 200 participants completed Artbeat’s 6-month studio residency program and exhibited work in 21 biannual exhibitions. Many continue delivering art programs through its urban art centre project, Studio Central. She deeply appreciates the therapeutic value of the creative process and restorative potential of art.
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Mary Bart

Mary Bart is founder and Chair of an Internet based registered Canadian charity called “Losing Our Parents”. In 2012, the Board of Directors changed their operating name to “Caregiving Matters”, www.caregivingmatters.ca, to better reflect the focus on offering education and support to family caregivers. Her father died of cancer in 2005; her mother, of Alzheimer’s disease in 2008. As her parents’ principal caregiver for 10 years, she has extensive experience in helping aging parents, dealing with family dynamics, and working with public and private organizations supporting seniors. She understands the joys, the challenges and also the pain, sorrow and stress of this difficult chapter in our lives and is determined to help others. She is a regular contributor to several national publications on family caregiving. She was a featured author in a book called “Open to Hope”, a series of real life stories of people who have learned to move past their grief.
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Brian Beamish

Acting Commissioner Beamish first began his career at the office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) in 1999, as Director of Policy and Compliance. This was followed by his appointment to Assistant Commissioner in 2005, where he directed the Tribunal Services Division – investigating privacy complaints and resolving access to information appeals. In addition to overseeing Tribunal, he also served as an executive policy advisor, playing a key role in executing the mandate of the IPC and supporting several initiatives in the best interests of the public, such as bringing universities and hospitals under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and ushering in the Personal Health Information Protection Act. Prior to joining the IPC, he held a number of positions within the Ontario Public Service, including with the Ministries of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services
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Dr. Benjamin Bell

Dr. Benjamin Bell is a specialist in General Internal Medicine with appointments at North York General and Sault Area Hospitals. He is a Lecturer in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is an executive member of Thrombosis Canada, http://thrombosiscanada.ca/, and in this role has been actively developing online knowledge translation tools and algorithms to provide health care providers with point-of-care decision aids. His areas of clinical interest include cardiovascular medicine, diabetes, osteoporosis and venous thromboembolism.
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Linda Bell

Linda Bell is the CEO of Bellwood Health Services, www.Bellwood.ca, an addiction treatment centre in Toronto, Canada, accredited with ‘Exemplary Status’ by Accreditation Canada. For 40 years she’s worked with addicted families, corporations and health care professionals including the Canadian Department of National Defence, the United States Navy and Elders in the Eastern Arctic. The first Canadian to be appointed a Fellow of the American College of Addiction Treatment Administrators, she also was a Board Member of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers for eleven years. She’s a member of the Wisdom Keepers Circle led by a Shaman from West Greenland and an honorary member of the Morningstar Healing Society in South Dakota. Her dream is to integrate western, eastern and aboriginal medicines to create a dimension for healing that resonate with the whole person. She believes the staggering costs of addiction could be mitigated with good treatment and save billions. View Guest page

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Julia Belluz

Julia Belluz is a Canadian journalist focused on health care and policy. She writes the award-winning blog Science-ish for Maclean's magazine, http://www.macleans.ca/ category/blog-central/science-ish/, and is currently senior editor at the Medical Post. A graduate of the London School of Economics and Ryerson University’s journalism school, she'll be a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT starting fall 2013. Follow her on Twitter @JuliaofToronto
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Jean Claude Benitah

Jean Claude Benitah’s current appointments at AMI-Quebec include Vice-President and board member, Chairman of the Political Action Committee, and Member of the Strategic Planning Committee. From 2007 to 2011, he was a board member at La Fédération des familles et amis de la personne atteinte de maladie mentale, a provincial-federation organization, which represents 39 provincial organizations including AMI-Quebec. His holds the BEng from McGill University and MEng from the University of Michigan in electrical and computer engineering. He’s a Member of Quebec’s Order of Engineers. His career includes 28 years as an electronic engineer at various Montreal, Quebec, companies in the area of airborne Doppler system navigating equipment, video television studio equipment, word processing systems, digital military radio telecommunication equipment and 911 systems, and 10 years as a tenured professor of computer engineering at Vanier College, in Montreal.
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John Bennett

John Bennett is the Newfoundland & Labrador Regional Director and Provincial Advocate for Cystic Fibrosis Canada, www.cysticfibrosis.ca. He has been a tireless volunteer and advocate since his son John was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in July 2010 at just 2 ½ months old. As Regional Director, his role is to act as a liaison between the CF Canada Board of Directors and the Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter. As Provincial Advocate, his responsibilities are to create awareness about CF, fundraise and to advocate for those affected by cystic fibrosis the most common fatal genetic disease affecting Canadian children and young adults. His career has spanned a number of sectors, from business manager with Staples to public servant in both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Today, his passion lies with Investors Group as a financial consultant, John.Bennett@investorsgroup.com. He lives in St. John’s with his fiancé Gillian and son John.
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Linda Bennett

Linda Bennett is the Executive Director, Canadian Rheumatology Research Consortium, http://www.rheumtrials.com/english.htm. She has an undergraduate degree in science from the University of Toronto. She’s previously worked in family planning, AIDS education and harm reduction programs with the Toronto Department of Public Health and community-based clinics. After coordinating clinical trials, she joined the biopharmaceutical industry where she held a variety of roles in clinical research. Since 2004, she’s managed the day-to-day operations of the Canadian Rheumatology Research Consortium, a national network of academic and community rheumatologists that conducts clinical trials in arthritis. It’s focused on raising awareness of the importance of clinical research in Canada and of collaboration with other stakeholders to address shared challenges. It’s particularly proud of its partnership with the Arthritis Consumer Experts and its role as a founding member of the Network of Networks.
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Kim Bercovitz

Dr Kim Bercovitz is a medical sociologist with a PhD in Community Health. She’s president of The Research Doctor Inc, a boutique company specializing in patient-centred market research and community outreach, off-line and on-line. Prior to founding the company in 2005, she spent 20 years working with hard-to-reach populations through her position as a National Cancer Institute of Canada postdoctoral fellow and researcher at several Toronto teaching hospitals. She holds adjunct faculty appointments at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and York University’s Faculty of Health. She’s trained at Harvard in community mediation and negotiation for difficult situations. She recently launched The Patient Pages(TM), an online resource and community, the first site of which is focused on children and youth, and their caregivers. She can be reached on Twitter (@researchdoctor, @thepatientpages), Facebook (The Patient Pages) and www.thepatientpages.com.
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Mary Bertone

Mary Bertone is a registered dental hygienist with 20 years of experience in the dental field. She is an oral-health promotion specialist with the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Community Oral Health. As part of her community role she’s in clinical practice in long-term care and in an inner city clinic. She provides dental hygiene care at a University-based long-term care facility. She mentors and instructs dental hygiene students in various community-based clinics. She’s actively involved research and in developing mouth-care policies and education resource material. She provides training for caregivers working in long-term care. View Guest page

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Lori La Bey

Lori La Bey is the Founder of Alzheimer’s Speaks, www.AlzheimersSpeaks.com, an advocacy group based in the US providing education and support for the Alzheimer’s disease and dementia community. She was named the #1 Influencer online for Alzheimer’s by Sharecare with Dr. Oz in November of 2012. Her training programs are designed for people with memory loss, family and professional caregivers. She’s a highly sought-after speaker, trainer, and advocate for new delivery systems and new attitudes towards those with memory loss. Her mission is to deliver programs, platforms and collaborations which shift caregiving from crisis to comfort. Her mission involves a Blog, Radio Show, Dementia Chats Webinars, Memory Cafes, Dementia Friendly Businesses and Communities, and Training Programs. She offers an International Collaborative Resource Directory and more. She’s been a contributing author in four books and is working on detailing her personal thirty-year journey with her mother’s memory loss. View Guest page

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Jonathan Bida

Jonathan Bida is a lawyer in the class action group at Koskie Minsky LLP. He has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario, including the Court of Appeal for Ontario. He has acted in numerous class actions including a several class proceedings where an institution or school has allegedly failed in its supervisory obligations to prevent abusive conduct towards residents or students. He has also published on the subject of class actions.
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Tom Blackwell

Tom Blackwell, tblackwell@nationalpost.com, has been a health-care reporter at Canada's National Post newspaper for the last 10 years, covering a wide range of topics, from patient safety to the ethical challenges around fertility treatment and the country's growing addiction to prescription narcotic painkillers. He has been at the Post since 2001, and worked before that at two news services and smaller newspapers in Canada. His career has spanned a variety of beats, including politics, crime, prisons and the war in Afghanistan. He covered the SARS crisis in Toronto and in southern China - briefly being detained by security forces there - and reported on the plight of Syrian refugees in Jordan. He has twice been a finalist for the National Newspaper Award, Canada's premiere prize for print journalists, and won other awards for his work. View Guest page

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Ian Blumer

Dr. Ian Blumer is a diabetes specialist in Toronto, Canada. He’s medical advisor and director of the Charles H Best Diabetes Centre and has a teaching appointment with the University of Toronto. He’s a member of the executive of the Canadian Diabetes Association and has been awarded the Canadian Diabetes Association’s Special Dedication Award. He’s a faculty member of Taking Control of Your Diabetes and Chair of the Endocrine Society’s Diabetes and Pregnancy Clinical Practice Guidelines committee. He’s authored or co-authored books on doctor-patient relationships (What Your Doctor Really Thinks), diabetes (Diabetes for Canadians for Dummies, Diabetes Cookbook for Canadians for Dummies), prescription drugs (Understanding Prescription Drugs for Canadians for Dummies), celiac disease (Celiac Disease for Dummies) and, under the pen name of Sidney Gale, published the young adult novel, Unto The Breach. His website is www.ourdiabetes.com.
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Harry van Bommel

Harry van Bommel is Executive Director, Legacies Inc, and President, PSD Consultants. He has a special interest in advocating for more and better safeguards for vulnerable persons who are in the care of healthcare facilities. Through his collaborative project, NavCare, he helps families who so often are overwhelmed as they navigate the health care system. He holds a Master’s degree in adult education. He’s the author of 40 books and a sought-after speaker on caregiving in home and long-term care, hospice palliative care, family and caregiver grief, and spiritual care. He’s an advocate for patient care focused on the whole family and centered within the community. He employs his expertise in helping families to get the care they need for multiple health challenges, to coordinate home care and hospital care under complex conditions, to make decisions in a crisis, to cross language and cultural barriers, and to find the care they want. He can be reached at harry@legacies.ca
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Dr. Bill Bonner

Dr. Bill Bonner is Associate Professor at the Paul J. Hill School of Business, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, where he teaches on the subject of management information systems. He received his PhD in Management Information Systems from the University of Calgary. He’s conducted research on privacy for over 10 years. As a privacy advocate he believes that at the core of privacy is the question of respect, and that this is important and worth protecting. He recognizes that privacy interests must be balanced against other interests, but what puzzles him is how unbalanced the balancing act appears to be in practice. He thinks that the scales used to balance privacy expectations against other interests seem to tilt too easily in favour of the other interests. He’s published in the Journal of Business Ethics and Information and Organization, and he has a forthcoming book chapter entitled, The Problem of the “Problem” of Privacy. He’s at http://ow.ly/yOvsW
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Mara Botonis

After twenty nine years in healthcare, throughout the United States in the senior housing industry, Mara Botonis’s life and career trajectory was forever changed when a close family member was stricken with Alzheimer's. Her everyday work, http://www.whencaringtakescourage.com/, at the national level and alongside families coping with the impact of Alzheimer's/dementia as well as countless medical and healthcare professionals specializing in this disease offered unparalleled opportunities to learn from their collective expertise.

Her passion and life’s work has been to support families in finding hope and happiness on a day-to-day basis in the face of this devastating disease. She often cites the influence of her beloved Grandfather, Bill, for inspiring her commitment to those coping with Alzheimer’s. She continues to be a sought-after speaker and outspoken advocate for families affected by Alzheimer’s/dementia as she shares her positive and empowering message around the world.
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David Boulding

David Boulding, www.davidboulding.com, is a 62 year old criminal /family lawyer from Vancouver, Canada. In 2000 he wrote a paper, `Mistakes I Made with FAS Clients’, a popular introduction to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Since 2001 he has concentrated on speaking to judges, cops, lawyers, probation and prison people, teachers, social workers, nurses, doctors and parents about FASD and the law. He’s spoken in Alaska, Tasmania, Queensland, Texas, California, Iowa, Manila, and Toronto, and elsewhere. He’s made available for free several video clips of lectures on YouTube. In June 2014 he and Dan Gunn made two fine animated short instructional films on FASD. All these materials are available on his website. His motivations are genetic as his grandmother was a public health nurse and the leader of the local social democratic party in the Okanagan valley! He was educated at Trent University (English/Native Studies), University of BC (Master's in modern poetry and law).
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Mariana Bracic

Mariana Bracic began her legal career in 1994 at a prominent Bay Street law firm advising clients on employment law issues. In 2000, she became Advisory Counsel with the Law Society of Upper Canada, regulator of all the lawyers in Ontario. In August of 2003, she found herself at the end of her parental leave with her twins. Also in 2003, she opened MBC Legal, www.mbclegal.ca, a boutique employment law firm and subsequently MBC Information Solutions Inc., a legal information company. An honours graduate in political science from the University of Toronto, she graduated from Queen's University Law School, first in her class in Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure and Remedies. She’s been entrusted with teaching tomorrow’s lawyers, having taught both Professional Responsibility and Civil Litigation at the Bar Admission Course. She’s frequently asked to be a keynote speaker for legal programs and has guest lectured at Ontario law schools. View Guest page

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Mariana Bracic

Mariana Bracic is a lawyer and founder of MBC Legal, a boutique law firm serving medical doctors across Canada. She serves as Chair of the Advisory Board to Canadian Cannabis Corporation. She has previously been a guest on VoiceAmerica, Family Caregivers Unite, to discuss how she balances a successful legal career with parenting her gifted twins, whom she taught to read at the incredible age of twelve months. She and her children have also been featured on the front page of the National Post newspaper, on City TV and CBC Radio for that story. In her spare time, she enjoys running (having recently completed the Toronto Marathon) and is also writing a book on infant literacy. In addition, she is an amateur architect, having just designed and constructed a historically authentic, 10,000 square foot period home.
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Laura Bramly

Laura Bramly has 25 years’ experience as a writer, editor and graphic designer. She recently created Life Scenes, a book that helps people with dementia to read again. Laura’s mother had vascular dementia, and the prototype of her book was produced for and tested with her mom, providing times of shared joy before her passing in 2008. Laura believes that people with dementia are not “gone” or “shadows,” but are people with memory disabilities, and that society must work to understand dementia and to enable people with memory disabilities. She blogs about dementia-related topics and is working to highlight “best practices” around the world that enable people with dementia to live their best lives. She is also involved in an international effort called “I Can, I Will!, which will enable people with dementia and those without to share ideas to raise awareness about dementia. She lives in Arizona with her husband and two children.
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Caroline Brereton

Caroline Brereton is a dynamic senior healthcare executive with 15 years of leadership experience. She became Chief Executive Officer of the Mississauga Halton Community Care Access Centre in May 2010. She came to the Centre from Leading Edge Group where, as the Senior Healthcare Consultant, she was responsible for business development and strategic planning for the Canadian healthcare division. Previously, she worked with Trillium Health Centre for more than a decade, holding various senior level positions, which culminated with her tenure as Vice President, People, and Corporate & Clinical Support Services. She’s a member of several volunteer boards and provincial task forces and committees. She’s registered nurse and holds an MBA from Queens University. She is a graduate of the Rotman School of Management Advanced Health Leadership Program. She has a vision for a system that is fully aligned to support the needs of patients.
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Sharon Brigner

Sharon Brigner is a Deputy Vice President for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, www.phrma.org, a trade association in Washington, DC. A registered nurse, she holds a Master’s degree in Health Systems Management. She also works as an Emergency Room Nurse on the weekends at INOVA Reston Hospital in her northern Virginia community. Previously, she worked for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. Her work experience includes the General Accounting Office, Congressional office of Senator Chuck Robb, the Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics at George Mason University, and the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. At Texas Woman’s University in Houston she served as President of the National Student Nurses’ Association and President of the Texas Nursing Students’ Association. View Guest page

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Tammy Brockhaus

Tammy Brockhaus is 61 years of age, and widowed. She coordinates the Cangrands group in Huntsville, Ontario. Recently she participated with other Cangrands in getting signatures for a change in legislation aimed at helping kinship family caregivers like her. She’d retired a year ago. But she’s recently chosen to return to work, to help with the household finances. She has 3 children. She’s adopted the child of her middle child. He was taken from his parents at 8 days old, and he came into her care when he was 30 days old. He will be nine years old next birthday. View Guest page

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Bill Brown

Bill Brown, a registered pharmacist, holds the BSc in Pharmacy. His current focus is methadone maintenance treatment. As a senior business executive, his career included international business development services to Express Scripts Inc., the third largest U.S pharmacy benefits management company. Previously he was President and CEO of Aetna Health Management Canada Inc., which introduced managed-care principles to large Canadian corporations. He also was President and CEO of First Canadian Health, created to manage the Federal Benefits Program for the Canada’s First Nations Peoples, a unique relationship between the federal government, the Tribal Councils Investment Group of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Aetna Life. From 1990 to 1997 he was President and CEO of Columbia Health Care Inc., a company he founded and expanded into the largest provider of private rehabilitation services with 33 clinics across Canada. Prior to that he was President and CEO of Medis Health and Pharmaceutical Inc. View Guest page

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Dr. Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown

Dr. Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown is the Director of the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and the Dalla Lana Chair in Public Health Policy at the University of Toronto. He received his undergraduate degree in government from Harvard University and his doctorate from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He’s a Scientist at the Keenan Research Centre in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital. His past roles include the Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategy and Policy at the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care and for Science and Research at the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation. He’s held founding roles in consulting, software, and Internet companies and has advised the World Health Organization, banks, software and insurance companies, and healthcare providers in North America, Europe, and Asia.
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Jody Brown

Jody Brown is an associate with the law firm of Koskie Minsky LLP in Toronto, Ontario. He received his Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University in 2009, works primarily in the areas of class actions and commercial litigation and in his class actions practice has focused on large scale institutional abuse cases.
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William H. Brown

William H. Brown is a seasoned business executive/entrepreneur in healthcare. Bill currently is the Associate owner of a large-format Shoppers Drug Mart, part of the 3rd largest retail pharmacy chain in North America. Previously he provided international business development consulting services to Express Scripts Inc, the 3rd US pharmacy benefits management company. He’s also been President & CEO of Aetna Health Management Canada Inc, a company created by Aetna Life Insurance to introduce managed-care principles to large Canadian corporations. Before that, he was President & CEO of Columbia Health Care Inc, a company he founded and expanded into the largest private rehabilitation company in Canada. It was successfully sold to Sun Health Care of Albuquerque, NM. Before that, he was President & CEO of Medis Health and Pharmaceutical Inc, which was subsequently sold to the McKesson Corporation of California. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a BSc in Pharmacy. View Guest page

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Jordan Bruce

Jordan Bruce grew up in London, Ontario. He moved to Toronto, Ontario to study Computer Science at Sheridan College followed by Ryerson University, to obtain his Database Administrator Developer Certification. For the past 9 years he’s worked at the corporate office of Canada’s largest pharmacy/retail store. He currently holds the position of Senior Database Administrator. He survived three heart attacks (2008, 2010, 2013), one small stroke (2009) and massive stroke causing left-side paralysis (2011), as well as epilepsy (2012) due to the massive stroke. After numerous tests and a line-up of doctors he remains un-diagnosed. Today he has full movement in his left side. He is back at work and still practices physiotherapy for his fine motor skills.
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Michael Bryant

Michael Bryant is a Harvard-educated lawyer, former Ontario cabinet minister and university lecturer. He was Ontario’s youngest-ever attorney general from 2003-2007, and served in the Aboriginal Affairs, Economic Development and Democratic Renewal portfolios, in addition to being government house leader. He clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada for the current chief justice, was litigator at McCarthy Tetrault LLP, and senior advisor at Norton Rose LLP. He lectured in law at King’s College London, was an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law School, and is now a lecturer at the University of Toronto in political science and a fellow at the Rotman School of Management. He is a principal at Ishkonigan Consulting, led by former First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine. He recently authored a #1 Globe & Mail bestseller, “28 Seconds: A True Story of Addiction, Tragedy and Hope”, 28 Seconds. He lives with his two young children in Toronto.
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Sandy Buchman

Dr Sandy Buchman holds the MD from Canada’s McMaster University. He completed his Family Medicine Residency training at the University of Toronto. He practiced comprehensive Family Medicine in Mississauga for 21 years with special interest in Palliative Care, HIV/AIDS and Global Health. His experience includes volunteering in South America and Africa. He’s currently a full-time Palliative Care Physician with the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care doing home-based end-of-life care. He’s the Regional Primary Care Lead in Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network for Cancer Care Ontario. He’s one of two Family Medicine Representatives on the Clinical Services Leadership Team of the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network. He’s the Honorary Secretary Treasurer on the National Executive of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. He’s an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto and McMaster University. View Guest page

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Florence Budden

Florence Budden is a mental health nurse and nursing instructor at the Centre for Nursing Studies in St. John's Newfoundland, Canada. She recently became the president of the Canadian Federation of Mental Health Nurses. She holds the bachelor's degree in nursing from Memorial University and has a certification in Psych Mental Health Nursing from the Canadian Nurses Association. She’s the past president of the Schizophrenia Society of Canada and the past president of the Schizophrenia Society of Newfoundland and Labrador. She’s the current Co-Chair for Advocacy for the Schizophrenia Society of Canada. She’s a representative on the Canadian Alliance for Mental Illness and Mental Health. She’s the past co-chair of Faces and Champions Awards with the Canadian Alliance for Mental Illness and Mental Health.
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Denise Burdon

Denise Burdon is a Public Health Dental Hygienist and a member of York Region ALS Outreach Program. She holds the Diploma in Dental Hygiene from Algonquin College and a Degree in Dental Hygiene, University of British Columbia. She’s a member of the Quality Assurance Committee, College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario, which licenses dental hygienists in Ontario. She’s a member of the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association, the Ontario Dental Hygienists Association, the Ontario Association of Public Health Dentistry, and York Region Dental Hygienists Society. View Guest page

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Franziska Buri

Franziska Buri, of Greely, Ontario, Canada, is the military spouse of a 22-year Canadian Armed Forces Veteran. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2008, he was severely wounded as a result of an enemy attack. In 2010, she joined the Public Service as a Family Peer Support Coordinator with the Operational Stress Injury Social Support Program with Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) as she has personal experience with supporting a Veteran with physical wounds and who is suffering from an operational stress injury. In VAC she currently works on the family file, under the head psychologist and manager for the Operational Stress Injury National Network. Her tasks are to create more and improved supports for families within the Network and its clinics across Canada. Prior to joining the Public Service, she owned and operated a small business in Ottawa. She hold the B.A. in Education of Seminar Hofwil University in her native country of Switzerland. She is mother of two daughters aged four and seven.
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Barbara Burnett

Barbara Burnett is Executive Director, Community Management, with Seniors For Seniors. She holds the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She has 35 years’ experience in the healthcare industry. In the medical and pharmaceutical industries she’s held numerous corporate senior sales and marketing positions including Director of Sales for Canada and Director of Business Development. She’s an associate member of the Gerontological Nursing Association of Canada and a core member on Falls Prevention steering committees. Very active in the eldercare community, she’s passionate about the provision of senior-centred care for persons getting older.
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Tony Buzan

Tony Buzan, an internationally renowned expert on the thinking process, creativity and innovation, http://www.thinkbuzan.com/intl, was named by Forbes magazine as one of the world’s top 5 speakers. He’s the inventor of Mind Mapping, used some 250 million people, and is the world’s foremost expert in Mental Literacy. He’s authored 100 bestselling books that, in 150 languages, are read by millions worldwide. He’s an authority on principles of learning, productivity and efficiency, and his consultancy has been sought by leading companies including Microsoft, IBM, Disney, British Telecom, and Oracle. His positioning as one of the world’s top speakers was achieved through the appreciation of his audiences, many of whom have described his seminars and workshops as life-changing, and lauded him for his complete mastery of his subject, his engaging manner and human touch, and routinely praised him for his energizing, affirming and amusing lectures which inspire and enthuse.
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Dr. Teena Cahill

Dr. Teena Cahill, www.teenacahill.com, authored “The Cahill Factor: Turning Adversity into Advantage”, a powerful personal story about wisdom, resilience, and caregiving. She writes for leading national consumer media and professional publications, and blogs at www.BeWell.com. She’s an expert at www.strengthforcaring.com, a website that is cornerstone of the Johnson and Johnson caregiver initiative. Her occasional articles are published at www.wellspouse.com. Her academic credentials include a doctorate in clinical psychology, a master’s degree in counseling and bachelor’s degree in education. She is a former adjunct professor for undergraduate and graduate studies. She’s actively involved with community-based volunteer groups dedicated to families, caregivers and history. She serves on the Honorary Board for the Well Spouse Association, is a Community Advisor for the Renaissance Learning Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. and a former board member of the YWCA in Princeton. N.J. View Guest page

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Tony Calland

Dr Tony Calland is the Chairman of the British Medical Association's Medical Ethics Committee. His previous roles in the Association include Chairman of Welsh Council, Chairman of the Welsh General Practitioners Committee and UK negotiator for the General Practitioners Committee. He has also received a British Medical Association Medal from for outstanding and sustained service. Before retiring, Dr Calland was a family doctor in partnership in the Wye Valley. His special interests include organ donation and information governance.
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Alex Cameron

Alex Cameron is a lawyer with the law firm Fasken Martineau in Toronto, practising in the area of privacy law. He works with clients from a wide range of industries where privacy issues arise, including the health sector. He’s currently the Chair of the Canadian Bar Association National Privacy & Access Law Section. He’s played a leading role in various Association submissions to government, including in relation to privacy legislation. He’s also received two prestigious commissions from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC). In 2011, he was commissioned by the OPC to author drafts a privacy handbook for the legal profession: PIPEDA and Your Practice: A Privacy Handbook for Lawyers. The OPC also commissioned him to author a landmark privacy law report titled Leading by Example: Key Developments in the First Seven Years of PIPEDA, which reviews leading findings and cases under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. He’s at http://is.gd/luYBab
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David Cameron

David Cameron joined the ALS Society of Canada in September 2003 as President & CEO. Previously he was Executive Director, Ontario Division, of the Canadian Diabetes Association, a post he held for five years. He sits on the Board of Directors of the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations. With his vision for the future of the ALS Society of Canada he has led it through a period of growth and transformation. Under his leadership the society engaged in a major strategic planning exercise which saw the organization commit to a closer working relationship among the 10 provincial ALS partners to enhance the potential for fund development and client service growth. He is also active in the Health Charities Coalition of Canada. His educational background includes a BA from the University of Toronto, and an LLB from the University of Western Ontario. He also received his Certified Association Executive designation from the Canadian Society of Association Executives.
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Vickie Cammack

Vickie Cammack finds and implements innovative solutions in the social sector. As the President and CEO of Tyze Personal Networks she is a recognized Canadian source of inspiration and demonstrable solutions related to social networks, social innovation, citizenship and disability. At Tyze, she focuses her expertise on how best to deliver online, personal support networks to people facing life challenges. She’s the Founding Director of PLAN Institute, and co-founder of Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN), a pioneer social enterprise supporting families to secure the future of their family member with a disability. She created PLAN’s Personal Network program, a unique response to the isolation and loneliness experienced by people with disabilities. In 2008, the Women’s Executive Network named her one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women. She is co-author of ‘Safe and Secure – Six Steps to Creating a Personal Future Plan for People with Disabilities.
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Joanne Capozzi

Joanne Capozzi was called to the bar in Ontario, Canada in 1988.She engaged in defence work as duty counsel for Legal Aid Ontario in 1988. She joined the Downtown Toronto Crown Attorneys’ Office as an Assistant Crown Attorney in 1988. She’s engaged in prosecutorial work for 25 years, with extensive trial experience at all levels of court and extensive case management experience. She’s managed, supervised and mentored teams of Assistant Crown Attorneys. She’s dedicated as Lead Crown in Mental Health Court and Drug Treatment Court, two problem-solving courts located at Old City Hall Courthouse, Toronto, Ontario. She’s Lecturer and Presenter at educational seminars dedicated to Mental Health Court and Drug Treatment Court practice and law and given for peer and stakeholder groups. She’s a member of Mental Health Court and Drug Treatment Court Committees tasked to review and seek practice improvements.
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Sharon Carr

Sharon Carr is a Registered Nurse with over 35 years of nursing experience. Previously, she worked in Maternal-Child nursing for nineteen years. On semi-retirement she moved out of the urban environment for a change of pace. Nursing called her back in a different capacity. Working independently and with a team allows her the flexibility she needs and continues to utilize her nursing skills. She and her team provide a clinical program for people living at home with chronic health problems with clients who need health support in their homes. The team uses technology to monitor the health of the people being cared for. And she also is Clinical Consultant with Insception Biosciences, where she develops public awareness and expectant-parent awareness of the importance of storing umbilical cord blood stem cells. She works with healthcare professionals to promote understanding of the value of educating patients and clients about cord blood stem cells.
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Dr. James Cave

Dr. James Cave has been a family doctor for 20 years working in a rural practice of a dozen villages in Berkshire. He is editor in chief of the Drug & Therapeutics Bulletin, http://www.dtb.bmj.com, an independent journal published monthly for physicians in the UK. He’s worked in a number of leadership roles in the British NHS in the past and in 2009 was awarded Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for services to medicine. He is married with four children.
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Sandra Champlain

Sandra Champlain, http://www.sandrachamplain.com/, is a top graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. She owns The Kent Coffee and Chocolate Company in Connecticut and travels with world-class race car teams providing hospitality in the American Le Mans and Grand-Am series. However, her fear of dying and skepticism led her on a 15-year journey to discover the undeniable proof of life after death and the reason we experience grief. After the death of her father, she created "How to Survive Grief," a free audio that was quickly heard by thousands worldwide. Armed with this powerful information that has reduced pain and saved lives, she realized a book must be written. In January 2013, "We Don't Die - A Skeptic's Discovery of Life After Death" was published. It has become a #1 best-seller in the United States and Canada. It has been rated one of the top grief and motivational books on Amazon.
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Mary Ellen Chater

After graduating in 1987 from the University of Toronto with an Honours BA in Arts Administration, Mary Ellen Chater joined a company where she was responsible for assisting pop/rock songwriters with their royalties. She moved to the position of Administrative Assistant for the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada where she was responsible for researching music performed in broadcast media in preparation for hearings before the Copyright Board. At this time she met her husband, then President of the Canadian Independent Record Producers Association. In 1998, she joined Insight Information as a Conference Developer for conferences in entertainment and healthcare, among other sectors. In 2001 she was appointed leader of a team of six developers, a position she held until 2003 when her husband was diagnosed with cancer. She continued to work as a conference developer from home as a contractor so she could be her husband’s family caregiver until his death.
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Kristina Chew

Dr Kristina Chew is an Associate Professor of Classics at Saint Peter's College in Jersey City, NJ. She blogs about life with her 13-year-old son, Charlie, who's on the moderate-to-severe end of the autism spectrum. In her blog, We Go With Him http://autism.typepad.com, she describes a particular problem for him, low muscle strength. She’d noticed that he benefited from family exercises like fast walking and biking. The more his physical abilities increased, she saw, the clearer was his speech. Now, she writes, he sprints or pedals at super-fast speeds simply because, having had to struggle with things like talking and moving, he's amazed, and pleased, that he can. She’s has published various articles about autism, disability studies, and literature, such as in Gravity Pulls You In: Parenting Children on the Autism Spectrum and in Autism and Representation. She has made numerous presentations on autism advocacy and she teaches college students who are on the autism spectrum. View Guest page

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Dr. Tiffany Chow

Dr. Tiffany Chow is Senior Clinician-Scientist at Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute and staff Behavioural Neurologist at Baycrest's Sam and Ida Ross Memory Clinic. She holds a dual appointment as Associate Professor of Neurology and Geriatric Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. She authored, ‘The Memory Clinic’, The Memory Clinic, in which she shares stories of hope and healing for persons with Alzheimer’s disease and their families. She developed a popular website for children who are caregivers to middle-aged parents with dementia and an educational activity book for children too young to access the internet, Baycrest-Dr. Tiffany Chow She serves patients with early-onset dementias in her Baycrest clinic. Her research explores neuroimaging to identify reasonable biomarkers for frontotemporal dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease. She actively participates as a Medical Advisory Council member of the international Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. View Guest page

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Dr. Pierre Chue

Dr. Pierre Chue is in full-time clinical practice as Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta, Departmental Head for Addictions and Mental Health, Alberta Health Services, and Consulting Psychiatrist with Telemental Health Services in the Province of Alberta. He completed his medical degree and psychiatric specialization in the UK before moving to Canada in 1991 where he obtained his Canadian medical license and specialist qualifications. In 1998 he obtained American Boards’ Certification in Psychiatry and Neurology. He is Co-Director of the Clinical Trials and Research Program, Edmonton, and has been involved in more than 50 clinical trials in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, and sexual dysfunction. He’s authored or co-authored more than 120 articles and abstracts in medical journals, book chapters, and scientific symposia. In 2004 he was rated as the most frequently quoted physician in the Canadian media.
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Bill Clark

Bill Clark is a British movie maker. His recent Writing and Directing credits include the feature films Starfish and “The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey”, which was chosen for Ibiza, Boston, Edmonton, Heart of Gold Film 2007 Festivals, and was Winner Best Film, Salt Lake City Film 2007 Festival. He makes documentaries and, commercials for which he has 600+ credits. His current experience also includes Creative director for Smyths Toy Store Group. His work includes Director of Films and industrial theatre shows for major international companies. His pop promos, music business work, photography and art direction credits include Slade, Kate Bush, Pink Floyd, The Hollies, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Def Leppard, Soul II Soul, Leonard Bernstein, Sir Georg Solti, Lynn Anderson, and Elton John. He was Festival Director Stamford Children’s film festival 2010, Guest lecturer, Film & Video at York University, 2009, 2010, Lecturer Anglia Ruskin University Film & Video module 2010.
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Ryan Clarke

Ryan Clarke, a lawyer, is the founder of Advocacy Solutions, a business committed to providing a voice to organizations and individuals through the development and implementation of impactful advocacy strategies. He holds an Honours BA and a Masters Degree in Political Science. He went on to study law, graduating in 1993. He practiced exclusively in the area of family law for almost three years. In 1997, he became a policy advisor within the Government of Ontario. Two years later he joined Glaxo Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithKline Inc.) where he was a Senior Manager in Public Affairs specializing in public policy and government relations at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. Advocacy Solutions specializes in helping innovative pharmaceutical companies to secure public reimbursement for their medications, and he has taught and trained thousands of individuals (including therapeutic area leaders) to be more effective advocates in support of that objective. View Guest page

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Nancy Coldham

Nancy Coldham is the founding partner of a leading, privately‐owned Canadian public affairs consulting firm, The CG Group, which she started in 1981. Her career includes more than 25 years’ experience in journalism, public relations and public affairs consulting that include senior positions in federal, provincial and other governments. Her speech writing, ad copy, audio-visual script writing and full editorial services and her expertise at reputation, issues and crisis management, media relations and internal and external communications programs have benefited major Canadian and multi‐national corporations, professional associations and governments. She recently added blogging and tweeting as she ventured into the Web 2.0 world. She’s been nominated twice for a Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Award for Lifetime Achievement, a nominee for the 2009 Canadian Women in Communications Award and recipient of the Markham Board of Trade Business Excellence Innovation Award in 2007.
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Dr. Terry Coleman

Dr. Terry Coleman was a police officer for nearly 40 years including over ten years as a chief of police. Subsequently, he was a Deputy Minister for the Saskatchewan provincial government with responsibility for policing and corrections. He is a long-time member of the Canadian Association of Chiefs (CACP) and has completed considerable work for the Mental Health Commission of Canada. For instance, in conjunction with Dr. Cotton, he developed ‘Contemporary Policing Guidelines for Working with the Mental Health System’ for the CACP as well as the Commission’s 2014 TEMPO framework for police education and training relating to interactions with people with mental health problems. He holds three graduate degrees from the University of Regina where he is an adjunct professor. He teaches policing and criminal justice on-line. In 2003, he was invested in the Order of Merit for Police Forces by the Governor General.
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Melanie Cooper

Melanie Cooper founded of the Connect Learning Centre which recently opened in Toronto. She’s a visually impaired teacher who has experienced many challenges. She became legally blind while a 21 year old university student when she suffered a massive stroke that left her completely paralyzed on the left side. She had to interrupt her 4th year at the university to undergo extensive rehabilitation. Throughout her rehab, she maintained a positive attitude, determined to fulfill her dream to be a teacher. For her re-training in basic life skills, she attended a program provided by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. It was this program, she says, that changed her life. Then she returned to teacher’s college at York University where she was the first legally blind teacher to graduate in Ontario. But the life-changing program ceased because of funding problems. Then she vowed to establish a life skills training program. This is how the Connect Learning Centre came to be.
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Terri Corcoran

Terri Corcoran lives in Falls Church, Virginia, and has been a full-time caregiver for her husband Vince since 2004. Vince is severely disabled physically and mentally by the genetic condition Fragile X-Associated Tremor Ataxia Syndrome. Terri is on the Board of Directors of the Well Spouse® Association, which offers support and resources for spousal caregivers. She also serves as the association’s PR chairperson and as the editor of their newsletter Mainstay. She has published articles, and has been interviewed for magazine articles and on radio shows about Fragile X-Associated Tremor Ataxia Syndrome and the unique challenges of spousal caregiving. Although not formally trained in caregiving, she has, by necessity, become well-educated in the trials of family caregivers. View Guest page

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Betty Cornelius

Betty Cornelius is President and Founder of Cangrands National Kinship Support, a Canadian non-profit organization for kinship support. It’s a home on-line that welcomes grandparents and kinship families raising grandchildren or other family members. It helps them maintain or re-establish family ties. It answers questions on legal and health issues, and provides practical advice for kin raising children and grandchildren. In Canada kin, mostly grandmothers or aunts on low income, raise 62,500 children. Little support exists for the children, many of whom have suffered neglect and abuse. But for kin caregivers, support is even less. Betty’s own story tells of hardship and sorrow. But, she says, Asheleigh, for whom she is grandma, is worth every cent I spent and every stress I suffered. She is safe with us, smart, not one bit shy and even her heart condition has improved. I am blessed to be entrusted with this lovely child, truly she is my life! View Betty’s work at www.cangrands.com
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Marie Cortes

Marie Cortes grew up in Montreal, Quebec. She moved to Toronto, Ontario to study Graphic Communications Management at Ryerson University. Since graduating in 2005 she has worked in pre-press and graphic design for several companies. She currently works at head office for one of Canada’s foremost food service companies. She met Jordan at a dog park in 2008, and they have been together ever since. Marie has been by his side through it all. Although young in age, she says, the hardships of health have strengthened their relationship and allowed them to grow as a couple. They are proud to say they recently got engaged. View Guest page

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Mark Courtepatte

Mark Courtepatte is co-chair of the Hamilton and Area Parent and Caregiver FASD Support Group, http://www.hamiltonfasdsupport.ca/, and one of the organizing members of the Youth and Sibling FASD Support Group. He is also a member of the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board Special Education Advisory Committee. He was successful in changing the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board to recognize FASD as an exceptionality and to assist other Support Groups across Ontario to achieve the same success. He is often asked to participate at parent-teacher meetings to assist in a developing a collaborative approach to enhance understanding of how to support children with FASD. He participated in the Ontario Ministry of Child and Youth Services roundtable session to develop a formal FASD strategy for Ontario. He’s a member of the FASD Political Action Group to support change in government policies for FASD.
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Penney Cowan

Penney Cowan, a person with chronic pain, is Chief Executive Officer and founder, in 1980, of the American Chronic Pain Association, http://www.theacpa.org/. The Association provides peer support and education in pain management skills for people with pain and their families, and works to build awareness about chronic pain among professionals, decision makers and the general public. She’s a Consumer Representative for the FDA/CDER Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee. Her awards include the Jefferson Medal for Outstanding Citizen by the Institute for Public Service, Washington, The American Pain Society’s John and Emma Bonica Public Service Award, and she’s listed in Who's Who in America, 24th Edition. She authored ‘Patient or Person, Living With Chronic Pain’, and the all manuals and materials used by the Association. In 2002 she began the Partners for Understanding Pain campaign under the direction of the ACPA, with more than 80 partner organizations in 2013. View Guest page

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David Cravit

David Cravit, Vice President, ZoomerMedia Ltd, has over 30 years’ experience in advertising, marketing and consulting in Canada and the US. He was a partner in Saffer Cravit & Freedman Advertising, which he helped take from start-up to over $150 million in annual billings. The firm was recognized as the leading retail specialist agency in North America. After selling his interest in the business, he worked as an independent consultant and also a consultant to other advertising agencies in Canada and the US, before joining ZoomerMedia in November, 2005. He has been a frequent speaker at corporate and industry events, guest on numerous radio and TV shows, and contributor to professional journals. His book, “The New Old,” (October, 2008, ECW Press) details how Zoomers (led by the Baby Boomers) are completely reinventing the process of aging – and the implications for companies, government, and society as a whole. “The New Old” can be purchased online at Amazon.com or Chapters Indigo.
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Michael Crystal

Michael Crystal, a criminal lawyer, is a partner at the law firm of Spiteri & Ursulak LLP, where he currently leads the class action group, http://crystalcyrlaw.com/lawyers/. He’s currently class counsel in five personal health information class actions. In his previous work, primarily in criminal law, he appeared at all levels of trial and appellate courts in Ontario, including the three appearances as lead counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada. In his privacy practice, he provides strategic advice on privacy, data breaches and legislative drafting to government and industry. He’s been retained by industry and the Senate to testify before the Canadian Senate committees on Human Rights and is currently scheduled to testify before the National Security committee. He appeared as co-counsel before the Ontario Court of Appeal in Hopkins v. Kay, a precedent-setting case relating to the interplay between provincial personal health information legislation and the common law.
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Catherine E. Currie

Catherine E. Currie http://ccurrielawyer.ca/ has been practising criminal law since she was called to the bar of Ontario in 1992. With a B.A. from Carleton University in Ottawa, she had a successful first career in managing technical communications before earning an LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto where she also received her LL.M. with a specialty in Criminal Law in 2000. Her practice is primarily devoted to criminal defence at the trial level. She regularly appears in all the courts in the Greater Toronto Area. She has a particular interest in representing clients with mental health issues and has a very high success rate in working with clients to have charges stayed or withdrawn through mental health diversion programs. She represents many clients before the Ontario Review Board and has represented clients on appeals of Consent ad Capacity Board decisions. She sits on the Boards of many community agencies.
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Neila Curtin

Neila Curtin has worked with the aging population in many different capacities over the past 20 years. She has acquired hands-on experience working as an Activities Director, Marketing Director, Executive Director, and in corporate positions in the sector. In addition, she served as Executive Director of a home care agency. It is this experience that has given her a keen understanding of the difficulties experienced by people navigating the maze of lifestyle options available to the senior population. Currently, she responsible for the oversight of the operation of the retirement home portfolio with Greenwood Retirement Communities and is accountable for all aspects including labour relations, sales and marketing, financial management and in monitors quality in all of their residences to ensure adherence to corporate guidelines, policies and standards, provincial statues, regulations and standards of regulatory bodies and associations.
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Jeff Curtis

Jeff Curtis is the Chief Privacy Officer for Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, www.sunnybrook.ca, a 10,000+ employee acute care, research and teaching hospital in Toronto. He is a Director and Chief Privacy Officer in the hospital’s Information Services group responsible for information privacy assurance, freedom of information compliance, IT risk management, and corporate strategic planning, activities. He is also the Privacy and Security Officer for the Hospital Diagnostic Repository Services in Ontario, a diagnostic imaging repository for 35 hospitals across four local health regions. He holds a degree in Economics, an MBA from the University of Toronto and an MSc from the University of Reading, UK, where he is currently a doctoral candidate in information security research. MyChartTM is Sunnybrook’s award-winning personal health record currently with over 12,000 patient and non-patient users. View Guest page

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Terry D’Silva

Terry D’Silva is an entrepreneur, electronic engineer, inventor and businessman and holds a Masters Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. In 1984, he founded Tertec Enterprises Inc., to realize and market his ideas, inventions and innovations, and to hold the patents for some of his inventions. With its mission “Engineering our tomorrows”, Tertec has established itself as a design house with an international reputation. Its electronic products can be found in countries ranging from North America to China and Europe. In its local community, Tertec works with local high schools, colleges and universities to introduce students to topics such as electronics, robotics, computer engineering, databases, and artificial Intelligence. Mon Ami(TM), Tertec’s latest invention, www.mymonami.com, has the revolutionary potential to impact society by improving the quality of life for seniors, people with handicaps and their family caregivers, and to provide a platform for Active Aging. View Guest page

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Ruth D¡¦Silva

Ruth D¡¦Silva graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in Mathematics. In her professional career, she has been a Systems Analyst, Software Programmer, Systems Programmer and served as Liaison with clients. She currently holds the position of Director of Software Sciences and manages a group of programmers and engineers as well as liaising with clients. She specializes in User Interfaces and is involved in the development of Mon Ami„§ƒz a caregiver's support tool.
A dedicated mother, she was also family caregiver to both parents. She continues as family caregiver to her youngest son, who was born with Down Syndrome and has Methotrexate-Induced Leukoencephalopathy. As a result of extensive neurological damage he is mentally challenged, blind, and cannot speak.
Her interests include nutrition, fitness, cooking, researching alternative methods of fighting cancer, and music.
She lives with her husband and 2 sons in a suburb of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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Darlene

Darlene is an Early Childhood Educator and Homeschooling Mom of two. She’s worked with children for the past 24 years in formal and home childcare settings. She’s a professor in the early childhood learning program at the local college. Over the years she’s worked with children with many "personalities" including those diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, ADD and other developmental disabilities. She and her husband provided a foster home for newborns. They adopted a little girl, now 8 and diagnosed with Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder. Darlene’s background and supportive family poised her well to navigate life with FASD. But each day brings new challenges for which there are only strategies, no solutions. The lack of supports, resources and understanding in the community for those with FASD has been most disappointing and has led her to advocate not only for her own family but also for others who live with or who are supporting someone with FASD.
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Dr. Marcy Darnovsky

Dr. Marcy Darnovsky is Executive Director of the Center for Genetics and Society, in the US. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She communicates widely on the politics of human biotechnology, focusing on the implications for social justice and public interest. She’s written for The Nation, Democracy, Harvard Law and Policy Review, and many other publications. She’s appeared on numerous television, radio, and online news shows, and been interviewed for hundreds of articles. She’s worked as an organizer and advocate in various environmental and progressive political movements.
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Marcy Darnovsky, PhD

Marcy Darnovsky, PhD, Executive Director of the Center for Genetics and Society, speaks and writes widely on the politics of human biotechnology, focusing on their social justice and public interest implications, http://www.geneticsandsociety.org/index.php. Her articles have appeared in The Nation, Democracy, Harvard Law and Policy Review, The American Interest, Alternet, Science Progress, The Journal of Life Sciences, Modern Healthcare, Contraception, Bioethics Forum, Tikkun and many others. She has appeared on dozens of television, radio, and online news shows and has been interviewed and cited in hundreds of news and magazine articles. She has worked as an organizer and advocate in a range of environmental and progressive political movements, and taught courses at Sonoma State University and at California State University East Bay. Her PhD is from the History of Consciousness program at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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Donna Davis

Donna Davis is Co-chair of Patients for Patient Safety Canada, http://www.patientsforpatientsafety.ca/, and a mother, a wife, and a nurse. The death from medical error of her 19 year old son started her on a journey to ensure effective communication between providers and patients and families. She contributed to the revision of the Canadian Disclosure Guidelines, the revision of the Canadian Incident Analysis Framework, the CPSI Patient Safety Education program, National Collaborative on the Prevention of Falls in Long-Term Care, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health Critical Incident Review working group, and the Safe Surgery Saves Lives. A World Health Organization Patient Safety Champion and recipient of the 2011 Nurse of Distinction award, she knows first- hand where improvements are needed and works tirelessly giving presentations and sitting on health-related and government committees across Canada connecting the research and statistics to real people. View Guest page

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Roxanne Davis

Roxanne Davis describes herself as the stay-at-home mom of two great kids. Hayley is her 14 year old. She’s an amazing girl who’s musically talented, and very helpful and loving to her brother, Mason. He is 11 and has profound autism, diagnosed at the age of 3. He’s received intensive therapy since. He, too, is an amazing child. Though he’s limitedly verbal he reads and can surf the web better than his mom, says Roxanne. He received his second service dog, Dublin, in January 2010 when his first dog, Zeus, retired. Dublin goes to school with him, where they are in grade five. They are doing amazingly well together. His dogs have allowed us to be an active normal family, she says, because we were locked in before he got them. We never took him out to restaurants or camping or on holidays. Now we enjoy all those things. I am extremely grateful to Dog Guides, she says, for helping keep Mason in our home and taking stress out of our family by providing us with a third parent, Dublin. View Guest page

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Jane De Pauw

Jane De Pauw lives in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, with her husband and two children who were adopted through the Alberta foster care system. Their son was two and a half when he first came to their home. Their daughter came home from the hospital at eleven days of age. Jane is busy with working full time at the University of Alberta, minor hockey, lacrosse and horses, and with her two children as well as volunteering as the Chairperson for the Adoption (ABI) Society of Alberta Board of Directors. She strongly advocates for adoption and in particular through local family and children services. View Guest page

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Fran DeFilippis

Fran DeFilippis was the owner and operator of Inprint Business Printing Centre Inc., in Toronto, Canada. In 2000 she sold the business to her largest competitor. In 2001, after the birth of her second child, she became a chocolatier and started a part-time truffle company to keep her business skills polished. She was happily settling into young parenthood, with two children, Kirsten, and Marcus, when a workplace tragedy suddenly struck. Many things changed for her since that fateful day. Her life and her family's lives were forever changed. She was recently awarded a degree in child development, and she is now applying knowledge she acquired. She volunteers at Hospice King Aurora and is a volunteer of Threads of Life, A Workplace Tragedy Family Support Association, and is a member of its Speakers Bureau. View Guest page

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Denise DeJarlais

Denise DeJarlais is a healing coach, mystic, creative thinker, and open hearted involved person. She and her husband, Robert Peterson, faced his life and death struggle after being diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. They got involved in receiving healing through a Circle of Hands program of the Healing Hands Network. After Robert's death, she learned Three Heart Balancing, a method of healing developed by Jaentra Gardener. She's helped many people as they journey toward health through her volunteer healing. She opens her heart and her home where she invites people struggling with cancer to receive love.
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Diana B. Denholm, PhD, LMHC

Diana B. Denholm, PhD, LMHC, has been a board-certified psychotherapist for more than 30 years. For over 11 years, she was the primary caregiver to her husband during a series of grave illnesses. She gives guidance, support, and resources in her critically acclaimed book, ‘The Caregiving Wife's Handbook: Caring for Your Seriously Ill Husband, Caring for Yourself’, www.caregivingwife.com. She is a professional speaker and writes articles for Psychology Today, PBS, Stroke Network and various other publications and magazines. She has been featured in the New York Times, AARP Magazine, The Kiplinger Letter, Consumer Reports and The Washington Post.
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Ginny Dennehy

Ginny Dennehy is co-founder, with her husband Kerry, and President of The Kelty Patrick Dennehy Foundation, www.thekeltyfoundation.org. Her world turned upside down when her 17 year-old son Kelty committed depression-related suicide. Eight years later, her 23 year-old daughter Riley died of a heart attack in Thailand. Since the foundation launched in 2001, Ginny’s championing has raised more than $5 million, funding care, research and education initiatives aimed at reducing the stigma of mental illness, and providing support for young people with depression. She’s recipient of the annual Waugh Award from Canadian artist Eric Waugh for her work in depression, winner of the national CASP Suicide Prevention Merit Award, winner of the 2012 YWCA Woman of Distinction for Community Building, and a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. 2013 saw her take her message of hope and help across Canada. She brings to her work her experience of 28-years as an award-winning IBM employee. View Guest page

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Kerry Dennehy

Kerry Dennehy was co-creator with his wife Ginny of the Kelty Patrick Dennehy Foundation in 2001, www.thekeltyfoundation.org. He says that, after they lost their son Kelty, they immediately and instinctively agreed to form the Foundation to warn others of the dangers of depression. He was the President of the Foundation for 8 years before turning over the reins to Ginny. Together the Dennehys are very proud of the $5 Million dollars that they have raised to date, which is dedicated to help prevent depression-related suicide in young people. He is currently the CEO at Pacifica, a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centre in east Vancouver.
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Lori Di Ilio

Lori Di Ilio
I’m happily married to Rob, my husband of 22 years. I’m the mother of Kaitlyn, who’s 16. Our first child Matthew would have been 19 but sadly passed away 3 years ago. Our unexpected journey began when, at age 4, Matthew was diagnosed with a rare progressive degenerative disease, Sanfilippo Syndrome. We suspected there was a problem but we never dreamt that it would have such a devastating outcome. Then everything changed. Our hopes and dreams were dashed. We went through stages of grief over the years. We became his caregivers, advocates, nurses, therapists and more. We learned to navigate the system to best serve our family and him. Though we endured many ups and downs, it’s an experience we wouldn’t trade for anything. Through him, we met the most wonderful people. We learned to find happiness in the adversity that goes hand in hand with having a disabled child. We have so much to be thankful for, most particularly, wonderful memories of him. View Guest page

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Rebecca DiFilippo

Rebecca DiFilippo founded a prepress business in 1986, which she successfully operated for over 12 years. In 1998 her business was awarded the Business Excellence Award for Etobicoke, ON. In 2001, she was hospitalized with clinical depression and struggled with a long battle back to full recovery. Her devastating experience led to the creation of Moods magazine, a consumer publication covering various aspects of mental health with an emphasis on prevention. As a result of her struggles, she openly discusses her long road to recovery, her many losses, the many causes of depression, and how she was affected as a business owner, employee, mother, and spouse. She has sat on several mental health-related Boards and has been awarded numerous awards for her work with Moods magazine, “moodsmag” on the Internet. She is also an artist who is currently working on a series of paintings, which depict the many emotions of mental illness in an effort to help others understand this insidious illness.
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Julie DiNardo

Julie DiNardo is a dental hygienist with an independent dental hygiene office, Gleam Smile Centre, www.gleamsmile.ca, in Hamilton, Ontario. She’s a founding member of the American Academy of Oral Systemic Health and a member of the Canadian Dental Hygiene Association. She provides oral cancer awareness days in her office and works collaboratively with the local cancer treatment centre. She’s founder of a charity called Woolies for New B's, which provides essentials for the less fortunate and their babies. She and her husband, with their four children, have been foster parents to many children. View Guest page

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Lisa Doupe

Dr Lisa Doupe holds an MD and is a Fellow of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. She’s a General Practice Psychotherapist. She’s taken special training in primary care psychiatry, cognitive behavior therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy and in disability management and health policy. Her medical practice specializes in care and treatment of persons whose high-risk behaviours led to involvement with the justice system. Her practice provides support for their family caregivers. She’s been a consultant to a community health clinic and to Correction Services of Canada, and involved with projects such as the Canada Round Table on return to function and return to work, and educating future physicians of Ontario in workplace health. She has special experience in addiction medicine and psychotherapy in supporting patients in returning to function. She has extensive experience in advocacy and advising legislatures in North America, Europe and Australia. View Guest page

Monica Draper

Monica Draper, www.draperwebdesign.com, is a creative and talented individual. She has a technical background working in an IT department for a large Canadian bank for almost 20 years. For the last 10 years, she has followed her passion, web and graphic design. As a result she has a long list of happy website clients. She is also amazing at Photoshop and can bring an old wrinkled coffee stained and faded photograph to life. She has four children and four grandchildren, and presently lives in a rustic home on 10 acres north of Toronto, Canada. She lost more than $100,000 to an unlicensed financial adviser. View Guest page

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Ruth Drew

Ruth Drew is Director of Client and Information Services for the Alzheimer’s Association. She recently joined the national office after spending six years with the Oklahoma and Arkansas Chapter. She is a licensed counselor with experience in inpatient and agency settings. She is honored to work with people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and their family members by promoting programs that help them access needed information and support. She has presented at national and state conferences concerning Alzheimer’s disease and effective care giving strategies. She has served as a guest lecturer at University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University and University of Tulsa. She also has a personal interest in the work of the Alzheimer’s Association as her late grandfather had the disease. She knows first-hand how devastating the effects of Alzheimer’s disease are on affected individuals and their families.
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CC Duncan

CC Duncan and Raymond Lavoie founded The Powell River Mobility Opportunities Society, http://www.prmos.org, in 2010. They were inspired by beautiful landscapes and opportunities for outdoor activities in British Columbia, Canada, to create an inclusive opportunity for everyone. Through the British Columbia Mobility Opportunities Society they were able to loan a Trail Rider to raise funds to purchase one for Powell River. They then began networking with other organizations for support and ideas, which resulted in donations from Powell River and other communities. By September 2011, they had purchased three TrailRiders. In May 2012 they launched Powell River Mobility Opportunities Society programming. Through social media and community events like Walk-Abouts, they continue to raise awareness and funds to improve programming, equipment, and accessibility. They truly believe in their slogan “Strengthening friendships and building new ones...” and hope to pass its philosophy on to others.
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Kerry Duncan

Kerry Duncan [T: @Kerry_Duncan] has long been involved in disability advocacy and support work. Her older brother Todd lives with developmental disabilities. Their close relationship led her to social work. She’s worked as Service Coordinator for the Centre for Students with Disabilities at the University of Ottawa’s student union. She helped create the union’s Accessibility Committee. She worked to make the University campus more inclusive and accessible by ensuring that relevant standards were met, facilitating discussions about barriers and discrimination on campus, and by providing active listening and suicide intervention support services. She previously worked as a Recreational Support Worker with Community Living Meaford, Ontario, Canada, in developing individual recreation plans for adults with developmental disabilities living in supported group homes. She works with Recreational Respite Inc., helping to develop RecreACTIVE as a community-based program. View Guest page

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Scott & Julia Duncan

Scott and Julia Duncan founded the Fellowship, ‘Sharing The Burden’, http://www.sharingtheburden.ca/, which operates a 12-step program for all members of troubled families. Their own experience taught them that, even when only one family member exhibits symptoms, everyone is affected and needs support. On June 8, 2012, they lost their son, Sean, to an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a pain-relieving medication related to morphine but much more powerful. Sean, with his 20-year history of addiction and Scott, his father, both participated in 12-step recovery for almost all the 20 years. Scott and Julia recognized that without the 12-step recovery they would not have achieved the years of intimacy from which they all benefitted. Scott thanks God that Sean led him, his dad, to 12-step recovery. “Traveling the pain of Sean's addiction and my co-addiction as a team has been the highlight of my life” he says, adding that “the future of our Fellowship will be Sean's legacy”. View Guest page

Episode Listing:

Scott and Julia Duncan

Scott and Julia Duncan founded ‘Sharing The Burden’, http://www.sharingtheburden.ca/, which operates a 12-step program for all members of troubled families. Their own experience taught them that, even when only one family member exhibits symptoms, everyone is affected and needs support. On June 8, 2012, they lost their son, Sean, to an overdose of fentanyl, a pain-relieving medication related to morphine but much more powerful. Sean, with his 20-year history of addiction and Scott, his father, both participated in 12-step recovery for almost all the 20 years. Scott and Julia recognized that without the 12-step recovery they would not have achieved the years of intimacy from which they all benefitted. Scott thanks God that Sean led him, his dad, to 12-step recovery. “Traveling the pain of Sean's addiction and my co-addiction as a team has been the highlight of my life” he says, adding that “the future of our Fellowship will be Sean's legacy”. View Guest page

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Jason Dunkerley

Jason Dunkerley works at the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability, http://www.ala.ca/content/home.asp, where he coordinates the All Abilities Welcome program. He’s a founding member of Achilles Ottawa, a running club for blind and visually impaired runners. Sport has been important in his own life. He and his two brothers grew up with severe visual impairment resulting from a congenital eye condition. They all attended a school for blind students where sports were encouraged. He took up competitive running with the help of a guide runner. In 1998 he qualified for his first national Para Athletics team. He has since represented Canada at four Paralympic Games, capturing 1500 metre silver in 2000 and again in 2004, and winning 1500 metre bronze in 2008 with his long time guide runner Greg Dailey. At the 2012 London Paralympic Games he and new guide runner Josh Karanja won bronze in the 1500 metres and silver in the 5000 metres for totally blind athletes. View Guest page

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Kory Earle

Kory Earle is President of People First of Canada. When it comes to the right to live in community, he says, he knows his history. As a young self-advocate, he speaks of those who have worked to ensure that he and future generations will never have to experience life in an institution. Through their words, actions, lives, and sometimes their deaths, he acknowledges the important work of self-advocates in closing institutions. He also acknowledges the many partners, allies, families, friends, and supporters it takes to ensure the right to live in community. But, he cautions, closed institutions are no guarantee of a good life in the community. http://www.peoplefirstontario.com/
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Shirley Edwards

Shirley Edwards is an ‘Identity Coach’ specializing in Family Caregivers. As a stand for the value of everyone, diversity and inclusion, she loves to quote Oprah – “Who you are matters!” She herself is a Family Caregiver of an adult son with a chronic health condition and disabilities. She is also the daughter/family caregiver of a parent with chronic health conditions and disabilities. And she is a leader from the health and disability field as a program innovator and advocate. Plus, she is a life, leadership and communication coach, consultant and counselor who has been coaching and leading workshops for almost 10 years through her Open Mind Coaching business, www.openmindcs.com. She has a passion for empowering fellow Family Caregivers who bring love and leadership to creating innovative, customized solutions for their families, our communities and society! View Guest page

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Ahmed El-Zoeiby

Ahmed El-Zoeiby obtained his bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy in 1994 from Cairo University, Egypt. He then worked as a teaching assistant in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Cairo, where he was also enrolled in graduate studies in Microbiology. In 1997, he won a scholarship from the Canadian International Development agency (CIDA) to complete a master’s degree in Microbiology in Laval University, in Québec. He continued his doctoral studies in the same field. After obtaining his PhD in December 2002, he moved to Toronto to work as a postdoctoral scientist at the University of Toronto. He then moved back to Cairo University to work as a Faculty member at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Faculty of Pharmacy from 2006 to 2008. In 2008, he moved back to Canada and completed his Pharmacy license requirements. He is currently a licensed pharmacist practicing in Ontario.
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Martha Eleen

Martha Eleen is an honours graduate of Emily Carr College of Art, Vancouver, Canada. Her painting practice explores the relation between culture and landscape, and has received critical attention in the form of curatorial essays, reviews and publication. Her work has been exhibited in public galleries in Canada, U.S.A, Mexico and Japan. She lives in Toronto where she teaches painting and drawing at the Toronto School of Art. Her work is represented by Loop Gallery, Toronto. Her recent body of paintings, I, Huck , explores the landscape of the experience of knowing her son, Gabe. Her website is www.marthaeleen.com
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Dr. Michael Eleff

Dr. Michael Eleff is a senior psychiatrist in the Schizophrenia Treatment and Education Program of the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba. He has been working with adults living with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders for the past 34 years. From 2000 to 2014, he served as Medical Program Director of the Schizophrenia Program. He has worked closely with families and individuals recovering from these illnesses. He has participated in numerous public education and information initiatives, both through the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society and in other contexts. Over the course of his career, both as a clinician and as a teacher of medical students, psychiatric residents and allied health professionals, he has emphasized the importance of respect, caring, relationships and hope in promoting recovery. In 2010, he was honoured with the Iris Award by the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society for his work.
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Michael Ellenbogen

Michael Ellenbogen was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2008 at the age of 49. Prior to his diagnosis, he was a network operations manager for a fortune 500 financial institution. Since his diagnosis, he’s participated in many speaking engagements and media interviews about Alzheimer’s disease, he’s worked to increase funding for research to find effective treatments, and he’s founded the Michael Ellenbogen Movement, http://www.michaelellenbogenmovement.com/. He’s been a regular participant providing public comment at the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care and Services quarterly meetings. He was featured in the Alzheimer’s Disease International’s 2012 World Alzheimer’s Report addressing stigma of the disease. He’s interested in motivating those with Alzheimer’s to raise their voice and reduce the stigma surrounding the disease. He believes that his diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease is not the end for him, because he has so much more to give to the world.
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Michael Ellenbogen

Michael Ellenbogen was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2008 at the age of 49. Prior to his diagnosis, he was a network operations manager for a fortune 500 financial institution. His book "From the Corner Office to Alzheimer's" was published in 2013. He’s the founder of the Michael Ellenbogen Movement, http://www.michaelellenbogenmovement.com/. Since his diagnosis, he’s become an advocate for education about Alzheimer’s disease, and for increasing funding for research to find effective treatments. He’s interested in motivating people with Alzheimer’s to raise their voice and reduce the stigma surrounding the disease. He believes that his diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease is not the end for him, because he has so much more to give to the world.
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Gail Elliot

Gail Elliot, BASc, MA, Gerontologist & Dementia Specialist, is the Founder and CEO of Dementiability Enterprises Inc., www.dementiability.com. She retired from her position as the Assistant Director, Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging, at McMaster University in March 2012 to focus on dementia education. She is passionate about changing the face of dementia, and dementia care. Over the past 30 years she has gained the reputation as a leading expert in the field of aging, with a focus on interventions for dementia. She has worked in academic settings and in the community. In her role as an educator she has taught college and university courses, delivered workshops, and presented at conferences on a variety of topics in the field of aging, locally, nationally and internationally (including Hong Kong). She is the author of a number of publications, including Montessori Methods for Dementia (2012).
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Larry Ellis

Larry Ellis is President of SoftWright LLC, of Aurora, Colorado. He’s been an instructor on RF system design at many of the SoftWright TAP Engineering Seminars. He holds the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and a Master's and Doctorate in Worship Studies from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies. He’s been a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Colorado since 1974. He holds a commercial pilot’s license and is a certified scuba diver. He’s an accomplished organist. He’s served on church staffs for thirty years as a pastor of worship and music ministries. He’s the author of a newly released book, Forgiveness: Unleashing a Transformational Process. He and wife Jill have been married for 31 years. They have two adult children both actively involved in taking care of their grandparents.
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Dr. Khaled El Emam

Dr. Khaled El Emam is the Founder and CEO of Privacy Analytics, Inc. He is also an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine, a senior investigator at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, a Canada Research Chair in Electronic Health Information at the University of Ottawa, and a Privacy by Design Ambassador. Previously he was a Senior Research Officer at the National Research Council of Canada, and prior to that he was head of the Quantitative Methods Group at the Fraunhofer Institute in Kaiserslautern, Germany. He’s co-founded two companies to commercialize the results of his research work. In 2003 and 2004, he was ranked as the top systems and software engineering scholar worldwide by the Journal of Systems and Software and ranked second in 2002 and 2005. He holds a PhD from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, King's College, at the University of London (UK). His website is www.ehealthinformation.ca.
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Susan Eng

Susan Eng is Vice President for Advocacy at CARP, the national, non-partisan, non-profit organization, CARP, committed to advocating for social change that will bring financial security, equitable access to health care and freedom from discrimination for all Canadians as we age. Under her leadership, CARP Advocacy has helped to shape the public discourse on key issues such as pension reform, investor protection, mandatory retirement, workplace age discrimination, home care, age-friendly cities, and driving for seniors. Increasingly, CARP has become a trusted source of public policy input at all levels of government and the media. In 2012, she was named one of the The Hill Times’ Top 100 Lobbyists.
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Erin Engwall

Erin Engwall is the mother of Jonas, age 4, with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, http://mynameisjonas09.blogspot.ca/. Recently he completed the final stage of his 3-stage repair procedures. She is a South Florida radio personality and freelance writer. She is also active in the local heart community, organizing congenital heart defect events to raise awareness about the issue, which impacts 1 in 100 children annually.
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Nancy Errebo, Psy.D

Nancy Errebo, Psy.D, http://ow.ly/wIOW8, is a psychologist from Missoula, Montana. Recently retired from the Department of Veterans Affairs, she maintains a private clinical practice providing Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Treatment (EMDR). She is an EMDRIA Approved Consultant and an EMDR Institute Trainer. Among other EMDR publications, she authored “Like a Ghost: Using EMDR to Revive a Traumatized Vet’s Marriage”, published in the Psychotherapy Networker (2007). In 2010, she was an invited presenter at the First EMDR Asia Conference in Bali, Indonesia. She was the 2008 recipient of the Elizabeth Snyker Memorial Award.
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Al Etmanski

Al Etmanski is an author, blogger (www.aletmanski.com), advocate and social entrepreneur specializing in innovative, multi-sector solutions to complex societal challenges. He is co-founder and President of Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network, (www.plan.ca), which assists families across Canada and globally in addressing the financial and social well-being of relatives with a disability, particularly after their parents die. He proposed and led the successful campaign to establish the world’s first savings plan for people with disabilities, the Registered Disability Savings Plan (www.RDSP.com). He’s currently partner in the J W McConnell Family Foundation’s Social Innovation Generation, (http://sigeneration.ca), dedicated to scaling up innovative solutions to deeply rooted social problems and exploring new methods of financing the social sector. He chairs the BC Government’s Advisory Council on Social Entrepreneurship Investment. He’s an Ashoka fellow (http://canada.ashoka.org).
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Sharon Evans

Sharon Evans graduated as a psychiatric nurse in 1967 from Riverview Hospital in BC. In 2008, she completed her Bachelor of Science Psychiatric Nursing degree. She started in seniors’ mental health both acute and long term care. In 1988, she began working in adult acute psychiatry at Penticton Regional Hospital. As the Clinical Resource Coordinator for acute programs from 1995-1999, she initiated working with BC Schizophrenia Society Penticton Branch, newly formed, to bring family support into the hospital. From 1999 to 2005, the Day Hospital program had a weekly family support meeting for which the clients had to invite their family. Volunteers came from the branch to introduce the programs. This was very successful! Today she volunteers for the Branch. She’s committed to creating a caring community when a person has a mental illness. She’s the eldest of 5 children, married to Tom and has 2 children and 5 grandchildren.
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Jill Farber

Jill Farber is Vice-Chair, Board of Directors, Autism Speaks Canada, http://www.autismspeaks.ca, a position to which she was named Vice- in January 2012. She has been a member of the Board since September 2006 and has acted as the Chair of the Family Services Community Grants Review Committee since the launch of the program in 2010. Prior to her involvement with Autism Speaks Canada, she was a behavioural consultant and an instructor and trainer for children with autism spectrum disorder.
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Lisa Feldstein

Lisa Feldstein, the principal lawyer at Lisa Feldstein Law Office, http://familyhealthlaw.ca/, graduated in law from the Osgoode Hall Law School and in psychology from the University of Guelph. She practices Family Health Law, which includes reproductive law, mental health law, privacy, and elder law. She’s worked with the legal department of Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital. She advises family members in their roles as caregivers, substitute decision-makers and advocates, and represents clients before the Consent and Capacity Board. She’s been widely published and interviewed in media outlets about health law. She’s been a guest lecturer at Ryerson University, Queen’s University and the University of Toronto, and has been teaching at Osgoode Hall Law School since 2010. She contributes to the community and legal profession through her student mentorship and volunteer work for Blind Adults and for the Ontario Bar Association Health Law Executive.
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Donald C. Fenn

Donald C. Fenn is Editor/Publisher/Founder of the Family Caregiver Newsmagazine. He’s spent a lifetime in media-related sales and marketing resulting in his wide and diverse experience. His clearly defined sense of purpose led him to start or co-launch in Canada many interesting media ventures including People Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, and Home and Garden television. He has his own media representative firm, Fenn Company Inc, which celebrates its 30th year in 2010. After launching health care dot-com businesses in 2003, he turned his efforts to the challenge of Family Caregiving. Having spent over 11 years as family caregiver for his parents with Alzheimer’s disease and cancer, he was surprised at the lack of co-ordination of information and resources available for family caregivers. So, in March of 2004, he founded The Family Caregiver Newsmagazine and www.thefamilycaregiver.com. The company Caregiver Omnimedia Inc continues to be a leader in this burgeoning category.
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Susan Fentie-Pearce

Susan Fentie-Pearce is a registered nurse, co-founder of the Ontario Autism Coalition, and the mother of four children, two of whom, Keith , 14, and Kyle, 16, have autism. In June 2010, the Coalition produced ‘No More Excuses!’ a recommendations report for the Ontario Government about services for individuals with autism and their families. Read more at http://www.ontarioautismcoalition.com
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Aida Fernandes

Aida Fernandes is Chief Science & Education Officer at the Crohn’s and Colitis Canada (CCC), http://ow.ly/DKLCBv. She leads CCC’s research, patient services and advocacy programs. She’s responsible for developing and implementing CCC’s scientific and education strategy and building partnerships that will advance basic, translational, clinical, epidemiological, and health services research in inflammatory bowel disease. She’s an Advisory Board member for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Infection and Immunity. She’s served on governing bodies in the voluntary health sector including the Public Health Agency of Canada's Surveillance Advisory Committee, HealthPartners, Health Charities' Coalition of Canada Research Committee, and Canadian Genetics Coalition. She holds a bachelor's degree in Human Biology from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Business Administration in Non-Profit Management & Leadership from York University's Schulich School of Business.
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Jane Field

Jane Field, a former high school teacher and literacy worker, is a writer and singer-songwriter, a speaker and performer in the Toronto area. She was a wheelchair user for 15 years, quadriplegic for 6 of those years, before she met a doctor in 2002 who told her she had a treatable nerve disease. Since undergoing extensive treatment, she no longer requires a wheelchair, but continues to straddle the boundaries of identity and belonging in the disabled and non-disabled communities. View Guest page

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Dawn Fields

Dawn Fields is an independent film producer and the president of Palm Street Films, a feature film production company based in Los Angeles. She has over fifteen years of production experience working for such companies as Twentieth Century Fox, LucasFilm, Tri-Star, ABC, NBC Universal, Morgan Creek, Rat Productions, Lorimar, Orion and Aaron Spelling. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, she worked in the southeastern film market for over ten years before moving to Los Angeles in 2000. In LA she’s worked as a producer, director and editor. She also has a background in development, acquisitions and independent distribution. And she has several other feature films in various stages of development and production. View Guest page

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Deanna Finch-Smith

Deanna Finch-Smith is Executive Director of the Salvation Army Lawson Ministries in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The Lawson Ministries, which she’s been with for 16 years, supports adults with developmental disabilities in residential, day, and employment opportunities. Her 25 years of work in the social-service sector has given her a wide base of knowledge and experiences which she draws on to support individuals with developmental disabilities of many types. She and her husband Steve and their 2 boys live in Brantford, Ontario, where they are active in the sports world. The Lawson Ministries web site is www.lawsonministries.org
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Barry Fish

Barry Fish graduated from McGill University in the late 1960's with both civil law and common law degrees. He is the senior partner in his law firm, Fish & Associates Professional Corporation, http://www.familyfight.com/, which he established in 1973. He is a member of the Society of Estate Practitioners and has had lengthy experience in the field of estate disputes. He is a co-author of three popular books entitled: "The Family Fight, Planning to Avoid it"; “The Family War, Winning the Inheritance Battle”, and “Where There’s an Inheritance”. He is a frequent radio and television guest and a contributor to various publications such as the currently published “Advisors Seeking Knowledge”. He is married, has two children and two grandchildren.
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Gail Fisher-Taylor

Gail Fisher-Taylor, along with her two sons, Kerr Wattie, and Skye Wattie, is a founder of Kilometres for Communication, http://kilometresforcommunication.com, a national awareness and fundraising campaign about empowering the voices of people who, because of disabilities, must communicate in ways other than with typical speech. Inspired by his brother Kerr, who usually travels in a wheelchair and speaks with blinks and a communication device, Skye launched this coast to coast cycling journey on Vancouver Island. Gail drives the support vehicle as Skye cycles, sometimes accompanied by Kerr in a bike trailer. They’re meeting with people who communicate in a variety of ways, and are speaking at awareness and fundraising events as they travel across Canada. Gail has been a psychotherapist in private practice for more than 20 years and, prior to that, she was an editor/publisher. She is passionate about voice, inclusion and accessibility for all people with disabilities.
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Katherine Flannery Dering

Katherine Flannery Dering is the second of ten children. Her younger brother, Paul, was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 16. Katherine is author of ‘Shot in the Head: A Sister’s Memoir, A Brother’s Struggle’. She writes about her experiences caring for her brother and speaks about the role of the family in caring for a person with mental illness. Her poetry and essays have appeared in Inkwell Magazine, as well as what she calls several small journals, and in an anthology of essays about coping with mental illness. She holds an MFA from Manhattanville College, a BA from Le Moyne College and a MBA from the University of Minnesota at Duluth. She’s a former CFO at a community bank in New York.
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Patricia Fleischmann

Constable Patricia Fleischmann is in her 25th year with the Toronto Police Service. She’s worked in all areas of law enforcement including uniform, investigative and plainclothes duties. Currently, she has administrative responsibilities for Vulnerable Persons Issues, such as abuse and neglect of older adults, persons with disabilities and mental health conditions. She’s a graduate of Durham College, McMaster University and Ryerson University. While at Ryerson University, she completed her Gerontology Certificate. She is an international elder abuse educator for police and non-law enforcement audiences. She is a founding member of the organization, Law Enforcement Agencies Protecting Seniors. She’s the author of two chapters in the 2010 e-book Aging, Ageism and Abuse. View Guest page

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Jerry Ford

Jerry Ford is a retired chartered accountant who has been advocating on behalf of persons with disabilities for almost 30 years and has had extensive involvement in the not-for-profit sector throughout his career. His accomplishments include being a founding member of Citizens With Disabilities - Ontario http://www.cwdo.org/ and Art de Triomphe www.artdetriomphe.org. As his disability progressed he became increasingly dependent on the assistance of others to enable him to live fully, then a friend suggested a service dog might be a good option for him. He applied to the Lions Foundation of Canada and, in October 2009, he went to Oakville to be trained as a dog handler. There he was introduced to Lilo, a yellow lab/golden retriever cross. Jerry remains very active with the capable assistance of Lilo, the incredibly talented Special Skills Dog provided by the Lions Foundation. Jerry, his artist wife Christine and Lilo live in Cobourg - email jford@eagle.ca
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Chris Fowler

Chris Fowler has been a professional Dog Guide trainer since 1994. In 1996 he co-founded the world’s first Service Dog program to assist autistic children and their families. He pioneered the puppy program and the training program. He mastered the various family assessments and services needed to ensure success for service dogs in assisting autism. Since 2004, he’s helped service dog organizations in Ireland, Spain, the US and Canada with starting their autism programs. In 2005, he received the RL Peterson Award for pioneering autism dog training and serving families with autism. He trained “Abby” who was inducted into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame in 2005 for her work with a child with autism. He received the Gerald Bloomfield of the Autism Society of Ontario in 2006 and the Paul Harris Award through Rotary Club International in 2008. Under his direction, over 170 dogs have been placed as Autism Dogs in Canada, including Zeus and Dublin, the dogs that Roxanne Davis talks about.
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Anika Francis

Anika Francis was first exposed to schizophrenia at the age of three when her mother was diagnosed with it. She understands the issues facing children of mentally ill parents. Early on, she experienced schizophrenia’s ravaging affects as she tried to support her mother and cope with the emotional roller coaster created by her mother’s illness. To make sense of her world, she cultivated a powerful drive and focus. She excelled academically and went to an Ivy League college where she discovered her interest in writing, http://bridgeross.com/francis.html, and traveling. Her love of learning and writing led to a career developing training programs. Based in Atlanta, she owns a company that focuses on transformational learning. Yoga played an important role in her transformation and healing. She has taught yoga for the past five years and trained to be a certified yoga therapist. She is passionate about teaching people how to use yoga for mental wellness and healing.
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Sakeenah Francis

Sakeenah Francis developed schizophrenia over thirty years ago. Like many with schizophrenia, she struggled to cope with her illness and was in and out of mental hospitals. Devastated by her mental illness, she went from homecoming queen to homeless. After walking down the middle of a busy street during a relapse, she hit rock bottom and made a conscious choice to stay on her medicine for her sake and her family’s. She has been in recovery for the past fifteen years. Passionate about raising awareness about mental illness and eliminating stigma, she is a mental health advocate. She served on the board of trustees for the Bridgeway Mental Health Center for two years and is currently serving on NAMI Cleveland’s Multi-cultural Advisory Board, http://www.nami.org/. A consumer mental health speaker for National Alliance on Mental Illness’s ‘In Our Own Voices’, she’s given over 50 speeches sharing her experiences living with schizophrenia and being in long-term recovery.
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Suzan E. Fraser

Suzan E. Fraser is a lawyer specializing in constitutional and administrative law with over 15 years’ experience in public interest, social justice, children’s rights and mental health issues. She regularly appears as counsel in a variety of forums including the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Ontario Review Board, the Consent and Capacity Board and Ontario’s Coroners courts and all levels of court in Canada. She leads and is a member of the Court of Appeal for Ontario’s Amicus Curiae Panel for Mentally Disordered Offenders. Her career has been dedicated to advancing the rights and interest of vulnerable people by representing them, their families and public interest groups in a variety of forums. Through this work, she has developed a unique understanding of the discrimination and vulnerability that persons with mental health problems face, the experiences of their caregivers and the systemic challenges to advancing their rights. View Guest page

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Irene Friberg

Irene Friberg was born to a family of 9 children, 4 boys and 5 girls. They lived near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island on the family farm where their two children had ponies, then horses, and they all looked after the milk cows. Irene has a teaching degree. Her husband also is a teacher. Their daughter, Cindy, always a bright student, was on the Honor Roll in High School until mid-grade 12, when she began having problems with school work. She graduated because of extra courses, then travelled widely in Canada and the US with Covenant Players. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia soon after. She now lives at home, is very good on the computer, and sings like an angel in church. She runs her own home business, Homestead Creations, painting on the computer art that creates business cards, greeting cards, labels, brochures and more. Irene and her husband have a son now finishing his Doctorate on Sustainable Forestry, and one grandchild. Irene’s taught the Family-to-Family course for 20 years.
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Audrey Jusko Friedman

Audrey Jusko Friedman, a Radiation Therapist, Social Worker and Educator, was recruited by the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in 1999 to establish patient and family education (PFE) as an organizational priority. She established a person-centred approach to program development to ensure the informational and learning needs of patients and families were met and that staff was trained to communicate and teach in effective partnerships with them. She currently leads the PFE programs across all four hospitals of the University Health Network. In 2004 she was appointed provincial head of Patient Education for Cancer Care Ontario with the goal of improving the quality of PFE across Ontario. She strives to ensure that PFE and services are accessible and meaningful to all regardless of age, ethnicity, language, functional or health literacy, geography or disease. Today she is a recognized leader and innovator nationally and internationally for her work in the field.
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Rubin Friedman

Rubin Friedman, MA, DSP, born in a displaced persons camp, grew up in Toronto, Canada. He’s expert in translation into English of German, Russian and French. He’s written on language testing, lobbying on justice issues, and the quality of Jewish education. He’s written for magazines and newspapers such as the National Post, the Ottawa Citizen the Montreal Gazette and the Jewish community press. In the Public Service he was Executive Director of the Japanese Canadian Redress Secretariat. In Jewish Community Organizations, he’s taught Jewish History to teens and adults. As Chair of the Holocaust Education Committee of Ottawa, he participated in talks to schools, is a member of the Jewish-Christian dialogue of Ottawa, served as occasional host of the community television show, "Shalom Ottawa" and is a writer and performer in annual Yiddish productions. Most recently he was appointed to the Board of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and served as its Principal Operating Officer. View Guest page

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Bronwyn Funiciello

Bronwyn Funiciello has lived in Ottawa, Canada, for the past 35 years. She became blind at the age of 11. As a result she is a strong advocate for persons with disabilities. She has a particular passion for equitable access to public education. She’s been an elected school board trustee since 2003, http://www.ocdsb.ca/Pages/default.aspx, and she also works for the federal government. In addition she’s the proud parent of five children. She’s an avid runner and looks forward to competing in her first half ironman in the summer 2014. She believes that anything is achievable.
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Rob Gain

Rob Gain, lawyer, joined Koskie Minsky’s Class Actions group in 2014 after practicing at another leading class action law firm. He has extensive trial experience, both in class actions and commercial disputes, having appeared in both the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Appeal. He has acted as counsel on a range of class actions and commercial litigation matters involving securities, price fixing conspiracies, consumer products, breach of contract, financial services, insurance and reinsurance disputes, franchise disputes, and professional negligence.
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Dr. Rolf Gainer

Dr. Rolf Gainer is the Vice President of Rehabilitation Institutes of America. He’s also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Neurologic Rehabilitation Institute of Ontario, Canada, http://www.nrio.com/. He serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Brookhaven Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, http://www.traumaticbraininjury.net/. He’s been involved with the design and operation of brain injury rehabilitation and treatment programs since 1978, including Community NeuroRehab, https://sites.google.com/site/communityneurorehab/home. He has a PhD in Clinical Psychology, a Diplomate ABDA, and the MEd in Counseling Psychology. He has published numerous articles on brain injury rehabilitation and mental health topics and has presented at many national and international conferences. He is involved in three outcome research projects related to social role return and lifespan considerations for individuals with traumatic brain injury.
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Dave Gallson

Dave Gallson is the Associate National Executive Director of the Mood Disorders Society of Canada, www.mooddisorderscanada.ca. In 2002, he created a seven-week skills development program for persons with mental health challenges. He led this program’s expansion to six cities across Canada. By 2009 it had assisted to return to work over 1,000 Canadians living with mental illnesses, plus 200 to return to school. The program was recognized by the ‘Sharing the Flame Excellence in Learning’ from the Canadian Council on Learning. He is Co-Chair of the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, and has served on the Canadian Psychological Association Task Force on Evidence-Based Psychological Treatments. He is well known in the mental health community, having developed a wide government and stakeholder network through his reputation of leadership through caring He is engaged nationally on many committees and panels where he speaks from both a professional and personal experience.
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Sharon Galway

Sharon Galway Sharon, a Registered Nurse with a BSc degree, has over 30 years experience in health care, education and training. She has advocated for seniors as a regional Consultant with Ontario’s Strategy to Combat Elder Abuse. And she has worked as a Home Care Case Manager. While working in the community with seniors and through her advocacy and other work she recognized the need for new models of care, especially to help seniors to maintain their independence and to age well at home.
Because Home Instead Senior Care’s model of care promotes the independence and successful aging at home of seniors and because its principles and values so closely align with her own, she decided to have her own Home Instead Senior Care office. Doing this, she knew, would ensure that care with compassion would remain an integral part of her life. She regularly appears as a guest speaker at senior-related events as well as organizing educational lectures on Elder Care. View Guest page

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James V. Gambone

Dr. James V. Gambone is a leading authority on generational and intergenerational relationships. His books and articles and keynote addresses are currently being used by business, community and faith leaders to help them understand differences between generations, and then go beyond that, to help generations work more productively together. His newest publication is Who Says Men Don’t Care?, A Man’s Guide To Balanced and Guilt Free Caregiving. It’s aimed at the 22 million informal male caregivers in the US. Besides being a leader in the intergenerational field, Jim is also an award winning film and television writer, producer and director. His latest film, the Journey Home, deals with the future of elder care in the U.S. He lives with his wife and two border collie working sheep dogs in Orono, MN.
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Dr. Tejal Gandhi

Dr. Tejal Gandhi is President of the National Patient Safety Foundation, www.npsf.org, and the Lucian Leape Institute. She received her MD from Harvard Medical School and MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health, and trained at Duke University Medical Center. She’s a board certified internist and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her career includes Executive Director of Quality and Safety at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Chief Quality and Safety Officer at Partners Healthcare, and serving on the Joint Commission Medication Safety Expert Panel, the National Quality Foundation’s Clinical Decision Support Expert Panel, and the ONC’s Health IT Policy Committee’s Safety Task Force. In 2009, she received the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award for her contributions to the epidemiology and possible prevention strategies for medical errors in outpatient care. In 2014 she was included in Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.
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Mona Gandy

Mona Gandy was a licensed realtor in the state of Texas for 12 years. She sold residential real estate with the Phyllis Browning Co. in the San Antonio area. With the help of referrals from the relocation department, she listed properties for sellers and worked with first-time home buyers. She also did extensive marketing in her target areas to obtain potential clients. Her family caregiving began 3 years ago when she lost her father. She now spends time with her mother who would otherwise be alone, and handles all of her mother's financial requirements. She now also serves on a Charity committee formed to raise funds for the Savera Association in New Delhi, India. It’s a charity established in 1998 for the people of Shrinavaspuri, a slum dwelling. It has established a kindergarten to prepare children for formal education, a vocational school for girls, and a medical clinic. It’s raising funds and seeking sponsors to expand services to other slum areas in New Delhi. View Guest page

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Jaentra Gardener

Jaentra Gardener was diagnosed in 1977 with multiple sclerosis. She left no stone unturned in exploring any method that might help her overcome this debilitating illness. Since then she not only received, but also studied numerous therapies and techniques, such as massage, acupressure, and reflexology. She healed herself. She incorporated her experience and her studies in the numerous methodologies into a complementary medicine called Three Heart Balancing. In 2000, she founded Healing Hands Network to inspire, educate, and help people embrace healing as an option to help them achieve health. She believes that healing is a gift for all of us like the sun, moon, and stars and that anyone who wishes to learn can do so. Her vision makes healing available for everyone who wishes to receive. She sees a healing coach in every household and workplace which means people helping people stay functional and in optimal health. She’s host of Healing Journeys on http://SQR.FM.
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Dr. Allissa Gaul

Dr. Allissa Gaul is a Naturopathic Doctor practicing in Calgary who has a keen interest in family medicine ranging from pediatrics to palliative care. She’s currently president of the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta and is a member of the Canadian Naturopathic Coordinating Council. Over her years of practice, she’s observed the stresses and strains experienced by family caregivers of children with special needs, of elderly parents, or of adults with chronic illness. She’s the founder and director of Resonance Wellness, www.resonance-wellness.com, a center dedicated to Conscious Family Medicine, which empowers her patients with knowledge, perspective and hope. She believes that when patients and their advocates are empowered, they can choose a course of action that supports well-being, even when options seem limited.
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Angela Geddes

Angela Geddes is the Assessment Coordinator at the FASD London Region Assessment Clinic, http://www.fasd-londonregion.com/. She began work in this field over twenty years ago. Her first professional experience was of a young boy diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Since that time, she has worked in various education, community mental health, and justice and healthcare settings supporting families and children, many of whom were affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol. As a part of this work, she’s been successful in developing, implementing and evaluating several innovative evidence-based programs which have helped gaps in services to be more adequately addressed. She is a lifelong learner who is in the final stages of completing a Masters of Social Work degree from Laurentian University. She brings this passion for learning with her and while teaching part time at community colleges, and while delivering various workshops and professional development training sessions.
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David Gerry

David Gerry, BSc Biology and Psychology, began his intensive “home-study” applied learning in the field of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) as a direct result of becoming a foster parent to two children with FASD. In 2000, he co-founded a charity, The FASD Community Circle – Victoria, to develop programs and services for those with FASD. The Circle set up the first children’s multidisciplinary FASD clinic on Vancouver Island, Canada. The Circle also set up the first multidisciplinary FASD clinic for at-risk women. He co-chairs the advisory committee of Herway Home, a comprehensive support program for pregnant and early parenting women who struggle with substance use. He co-founded the international ‘Living with FASD Summit’, http://LivingWithFASD.com
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Episode Listing:

David Gerry

David Gerry, BSc Biology and Psychology, began his intensive “home-study” applied learning in the field of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) as a direct result of becoming a foster parent to two children with FASD. In 2000, he co-founded a charity, The FASD Community Circle – Victoria, to develop programs and services for those with FASD. The Circle set up the first children’s multidisciplinary FASD clinic on Vancouver Island, Canada. The Circle also set up the first multidisciplinary FASD clinic for at-risk women. He co-chairs the advisory committee of Herway Home, a comprehensive support program for pregnant and early parenting women who struggle with substance use. He also co-founded the international ‘Living with FASD Summit’, http://LivingWithFASD.com. Listeners can join an online Facebook support group for families raising family members with FASD.
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Joel Gerstel

Joel Gerstel is the Executive Director of the American Parkinson Disease Association. Born and raised in Long Island, New York, he received his BA degree from New York University. In 1997 he was named the Association’s executive director. Previously he was director of operations and prior to that he’d served as a member of the Association’s board of directors. His previous administrative experience included nine years as development director for the Pride of Judea Mental Health Center, Douglaston, New York. Under his leadership, the Association doubled its operational budget, expanded its national network to become the largest grass-root organization serving Americans with Parkinson disease in the United States, and moved from rented quarters into it first national headquarters building. In 2003, he was appointed to represent the Parkinson disease community on the Transportation Security Administration’s Disability Coalition, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. View Guest page

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Samuel Getachew

Samuel Getachew is an Ethiopian Canadian activist based in Toronto. He has a passion for Canadian and American politics. He’s worked on many political campaigns including that of then Senator Barack Obama. He’s also passionate about international development as well as community activism. He writes a column for Tzta newspaper. He’s also written for www.swaymag.ca, the Toronto Sun and the Ottawa Citizen newspapers. He’ll be travelling later on this year to every province and territory within Canada to pay tribute to leading Canadians of the past such as Former Prime Ministers John Diefenbaker, Louis St Laurent and the father of Canadian Medicare, Tommy Douglas.
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Dr. Noreen Gibbens

Dr. Noreen Gibbens is the lead audiologist for hi HealthInnovations, https://www.hihealthinnovations.com/, and a field team representative for the state of Tennessee. Her responsibilities include assisting patients with hearing testing, fittings and aural rehabilitation, and ensuring clinical quality companywide. Her 25 years of experience helping people with hearing loss include large medical facilities and advisor to local chapters of the Hearing Loss Association of America. She’s a graduate of Central Michigan University and Vanderbilt University. She provides compassionate service for her patients, utilizing her extensive background working with patients of all ages and with all levels of hearing loss. Her passion is educating people on hearing health care, which includes educating patients about hearing loss and how it impacts their quality of life, as well as providing guidance to families and health care professionals who assist people with hearing loss.
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Sholom Glouberman

Sholom Glouberman is founding President of the Patients’ Association of Canada. He is also Philosopher in Residence at the Kunin Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit of Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, and an adjunct at the University of Toronto. He has a BA from McGill and a PhD in Philosophy from Cornell University. He gained much of his experience in the health field at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal and the King’s Fund in London, England. He became an advisor to doctors, nurses and managers in Canada and internationally. He has produced various innovative management programs. He directed the health policy think tank at the Canadian Policy Research Networks. He has spoken widely in Europe, North America and Australia. His publications focus on complex health systems, health in cities, health care reform and the health care experience. He is currently hard at work on the nature of patient engagement in health care systems. His web site is www.healthandeverthing.org. View Guest page

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Rachel Goldberg

Dr. Rachel Goldberg has been with B’nai B’rith International since 2003. She’s the Director of Aging Policy, which covers health care, housing and other issues of particular importance for older adults. She develops and oversees community programs on age-related issues like Aging in Place, Identity Theft, Medicare, and Health Care Reform. She’s responsible for drafting and presenting policy options to the B’nai B’rith International’s Board of Governors. She advocates for B’nai B’rith International’s policies in Washington. Before joining B’nai B’rith International, she was an Assistant Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, where the courses she taught included Congress and the Presidency. She holds a PhD, a Masters in Government from Georgetown University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in History and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
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Myra Goldick

Myra Goldick, http://www.myragoldick.com, as a child struggled to overcome a dysfunctional family life, extreme poverty, and homelessness. Paralyzed by polio and meningitis at the age of ten, she found herself unable to move one single muscle. Initially she was totally dependent on her mother for her every basic need. Through rehabilitation, surgeries, passion, and perseverance, she regained some of her mobility. Driven by a desire to succeed, she finished school, married, and built a successful career in corporate America. Later in life, she experienced a total role reversal when she became her aging, ill mother’s caregiver, while at the same time struggling to manage post-polio syndrome. Today she is a speaker, author (“Dancing on our Disabilities” is one of her books), professional artist, coach, Internet talk radio host of two shows, and a disability advocate for both the challenged and the caregiver. Her motto is “happiness is a choice” regardless of the challenges life creates.
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Dr. Ron Goldstein

Ron Goldstein graduated in 1971 from the University of Toronto with BSc and DDS degrees. He’s been in private dental practice, www.drronaldgoldsteinandassociates.com, for 43 years. His interest in sleep apnea led him to advanced residency courses presented by Dr. Steven Olmos at the TMJ and Sleep Therapy Centre in San Diego, California. He furthers his training through membership of The American Academy of Craniofacial Pain Canadian Chapter, The American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, The Canadian Academy of Sleep Disorders Disciplines and The Medibyte Users group, for home sleep tests. He speaks to various groups about the health consequences of sleep apnea, the availability of home sleep tests and the highly accepted treatment with oral appliances in place of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure. He’s dedicated to improving the quality of life, reducing health problems and increasing life expectancy of his patients through the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.
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Christene Gordon

Christene Gordon, BFA, BEd, is Director of Client Services and Programs, The Alzheimer Society, Canada. She’s an educator whose experience includes music specialist, zoo educator, sexuality instructor and historical interpreter. She’s worked in the field of dementia care for over 20 years. Her dementia education was in Britain, and she’s now working towards an MSc in dementia care. She was drawn to the dementia care field following her family’s experience in caring for her Grandmother. “In the 1980’s there was not a lot of information available for family members so we befuddled our way through”, she says. Convinced that there must be a better way, she embarked on a learning path to better understand the dementia experience. The learning stood her in good stead while supporting her Dad in the care of her mother who was living with vascular dementia. Her message to care partners is that you can’t do it alone, you need a circle of care that includes family, friends and professionals.
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Dr. Michael Gordon

Dr. Michael Gordon, is a medical professor, ethicist and one of Canada’s best known geriatricians. He has published several books, including Late-Stage Dementia: Promoting comfort, compassion and care; Moments that Matter: Cases in Ethical Eldercare; Parenting your Parents (the fourth edition is due for release next fall); and his memoir Brooklyn Beginnings: A Geriatrician's Odyssey. His work to advance the understanding of aging, ethics and end-of-life care is valued by public and professional audiences. Born in the United States, his educational and training experiences span the United States, Scotland, Israel and Canada. He is currently the medical program director of Palliative Care at Baycrest Health Sciences and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
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Sarah Gorham

Sarah Gorham, www.grinddining.com, has 23 years of experience in hotels, restaurants, catering, and hospital foodservice with 15 years of management experience in this field. Positions she’s held include executive chef, sous chef, food production manager, co-founder/chef, and culinary consultant. Her former employers include Marriott Hotels and Resorts and Two Chefs, Inc. She opened 4 hotels for Marriott including the Marriott Marquis, Atlanta, GA. Her experience also includes 19 years in higher education, 15 years of experience as a culinary educator, and 14 years as a higher education administrator. Positions she’s held include associate dean of academic affairs, culinary arts department chair, chef director, and chef instructor. Her former academic employers include the Art Institute of Atlanta and the Art Institute of Atlanta, Decatur.
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Naguib Gouda

Naguib Gouda joined the Alzheimer Society of Canada in December 2011 as its Chief Executive Officer. Previously he was Executive Director, Member Services and CEO, OMA Insurance Inc., at the Ontario Medical Association. He managed government-funded programs and insurance programs for physicians in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces. He also co-led the Canadian Medical Association and its provincial and territorial counterparts to reach an Alliance Agreement for their Wealth Management and Insurance lines of business. He’s also held positions in marketing, strategic planning and project management at Manulife Financial and the Bank of Montreal, and served as Executive Director, Alumni and Advancement Services, at York University. He holds an MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business. He’s a lifelong volunteer, having served on the boards of the Toronto Distress Centre, Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada and the United Way of Greater Toronto. View Guest page

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Wendy Graham

Dr. Wendy Graham, MD, CCFP, FCFP, is founder of The Association of Family Health Teams and past Medical Director and Lead Physician with North Bay’s Blue Sky Family Health Team. She’s an extremely influential physician in primary care reform and collaborative care models for Canada. She’s addressed numerous international conferences on patient healthcare reform, including the UN’s. She’s a member of the Local Integrated Health Network, eHealth Ontario. She acts in a consulting capacity to several healthcare technology companies, including the Board of Directors of Pharmatrust. She holds an Assistant Professorship at the Queen’s University. She’s the recipient of numerous prestigious awards from the College of Family Physicians of Canada, Canadian Medical Association, and the Ontario Medical Association. Her past memberships include the Institute of Optimizing Patient Outcomes Board, the Canadian Council for Integrated Health Care, and Ontario Medical Association Board of Directors. View Guest page

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Kari Gray

Kari Gray has a professional career after facing terminal cancer in her 20's. The day she went to the doctor to receive a prognosis of no hope of survival is a day no one with good health sees coming, she says. In defiance of the sure death forecast for her by two medical diagnoses, she explains, she got a second chance at life because alternative medicine saved her. She adds that her experience of the life-saving effectiveness of alternative treatments created her passion and drive to ‘pay it forward’ with her professional mission to take this experience and be the voice of change. By creating a lifesaving empowering solution, change for the better is soon to be the result. She says that, in 2014, as Obamacare forces some 47 million people into health insurance coverage, Green-Surance, www.green-surance.com, is now the ‘Voice for Choice’ by providing innovative alternative medicine health insurance.
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Brent Green

Brent Green is a marketing communication strategist, creative director, copywriter, author, speaker, trainer and consultant with focus on generational marketing. His firm, Brent Green & Associates Inc, of Denver, Colorado, was established in 1986. It develops integrated marketing communication programs for direct response media, integrated sales promotions, marketing public relations, and senior executive training. It’s received more than 50 national and international awards for creative excellence. He authored Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers: Perceptions, Principles, Practices, Predictions. His next book, Generation Reinvention, examines how Boomers are changing business, marketing, aging and the future. Part explores marketing to male Baby Boomers. He was the primary caregiver for his parents during their final years. Drawing on his care-giving experiences and knowledge of the Boomer generation, he has become a popular speaker for the hospice and home healthcare industries.
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Katie Griffiths

Katie Griffiths is an Outreach Counselor with the Alzheimer Society Peel office locations. She’s worked with the elderly and their families since 1997. With her colleagues, she provides support for family caregivers caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia.
She believes that each family caregiver has a unique role and journey with Alzheimer’s disease or any dementia, for that matter. In her professional work, she sees their need for support in navigating this journey mentally, emotionally and physically. While the journey is always hard and demanding, she says, it nevertheless does bring some satisfaction and happiness for the family caregivers.
The services she and her colleagues provide include phone support, one-on-one and family counselling, support groups, and information on services and supports needed through this journey. She holds a Bachelor of Arts-Sociology degree and a Gerontology Honours Diploma. View Guest page

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Jeremy Gruber

Jeremy Gruber, lawyer, writer, and public policy advocate, is President and Executive Director of the Council for Responsible Genetics, http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/. He’s worked for over twenty years on genetic privacy and non-discrimination legislation at the state and Federal level. He helped author and pass numerous state laws on genetic non-discrimination. He’s a founder and executive committee member of the Coalition for Genetic Fairness, a group of 500 organizations, which advocated for genetic non-discrimination legislation on Capitol Hill and played a major role in the passage of the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act by Congress. He worked closely with members of Congress and staff on the Act. He also led the successful campaign to roll back a controversial student genetic testing program at the University of California, Berkeley in 2010. He holds a Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law and a BA in Politics from Brandeis University.
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Fire Chief Simon Grypma

Fire Chief Simon Grypma has 37 years of Service with the Nelson, British Columbia, Fire Department, http://ow.ly/rUV6R. In 1995 he was appointed Fire Prevention Officer. Since 2009, he’s led the Nelson Fire Department as the Chief. Since 1992 Nelson has had 9 residential fire fatalities. His department responds to hundreds of fire calls per year: 40 percent relate to kitchen incidents. Since 2010, he’s directed the department’s fire inspection towards residential fire safety, including an aggressive smoke alarm campaign recognized provincially in BC Legislation. His department has undertaken a pilot program endorsed by the Fire Chiefs Association of BC to evaluate the ‘Stove Reminder’. For 10 years he dealt with the family issues of the dementia of his father. He has firsthand experience of his parents struggling at home and then four years in a residential long term care facility. In 2013, he’s the Nelson Chairman for the Alzheimer's Walk for Memories. View Guest page

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Dr. Mimi Guarneri

Dr. Mimi Guarneri, board-certified in cardiology, internal medicine, nuclear medicine and holistic medicine, specializes in Integrative Medicine, www.MimiGuarneriMD.com. She pioneered state-of-the-art cardiac imaging technology with lifestyle-change programs to aggressively diagnose, prevent and treat cardiovascular disease. She’s a member of the American College of Cardiology, Alpha Omega Alpha, the American Medical Women’s Association, and president of the American Board of Holistic Medicine. In 2009, she was honored as the ARCS scientist of the year. In 2011, she won of the Bravewell Leadership Award which honors a physician leader who has made significantly contributed to the transformation of US healthcare system. In 2012, she received the Linus Pauling Functional Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute for Functional Medicine and the Grace A. Goldsmith Award from the American College of Nutrition. She is author of the book “The Heart Speaks”. View Guest page

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Brent Haldane

Brent Haldane writes “One of my earliest memories is of my Aunt Lois, a Christian missionary in Ethiopia. She'd zip back to Canada every 5 years for a brief visit laden with exotic gifts‎. I remember an African shirt she gave me that I proudly wore until it fell off my back. Lois was a guardian angel who swirled in and out of my life during a very formative time of my development. Her presence was powerful and her inspiring goal was, and still is, to help others. When a chance to volunteer in the prison system came up I thought it would be a great way to give back. The light you see on many of these forgotten faces makes one realize how each of us needs love and support.”
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Barbara Hall

Barbara Hall is Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en. Former Mayor of Toronto, she’s served for more than 40 years as a community worker, lawyer, municipal politician and champion of a grassroots approach to community-building. She served three terms as a Toronto city councillor from 1985 on and as Toronto's mayor from 1994 to 1997. From 1998 to 2002 she headed the Canadian government's National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention. She was appointed Chief Commissioner of the Province of Ontario’s Human Rights Commission in 2005. She’s also practised criminal and family law, been a member of the Province of Ontario Health Ministry's Health Results Team, and lectured nationally and internationally on urban and social issues. She has extensive experience on non-profit boards and committees, and has a strong record of bringing diverse groups together to build safe and strong communities.
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Joseph Hammang

Joseph Hammang is Senior Vice President, Life Sciences for ML Strategies, www.mlstrategies.com. He’s author of 60 scientific publications and is inventor or co-inventor of 35 U.S. patents. He holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. Previously, he was Senior Director of Worldwide Science Policy for Pfizer Inc. Prior to his appointment at Pfizer, he was Vice President for Science, Technology and Business Development at the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation and Head of Science and Technology at the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council. In 1999, he was appointed Governor Lincoln Almond’s Advisor for Science and Technology. He also held positions at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, in Alzheimer’s disease research and at CytoTherapeutics, Inc., Providence, Rhode Island, as Director of Cell and Molecular Neuroscience and Director of the Ophthalmology Therapeutic program. View Guest page

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Christine Hanks

Christine Hanks was born in Farmington, CT, in 1986 as the youngest of 3 girls to parents Clyde and Natalia Hanks. She moved to Colorado in 2003 for college and played varsity volleyball and studied English at Colorado College. Her parents moved to the Vail Valley in 2004 and she soon followed suit in 2009. In November of 2009, her mother, Natalia, was diagnosed with ALS. As her disease progressed, the need of a full time caregiver arose in the beginning of 2012. Christine then opted to leave her professional work in marketing, which she had been doing for 3 years, to help take care of her mother. Christine has been living at home as her mother's full-time caregiver since the Spring of 2012. With the help of her father, who works full time but who also lives in the house, and her two sisters, Katharine and Alana, Christine has been able to help keep her mother as healthy and comfortable as possible. View Guest page

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Dr. J R Harding

Dr. J R Harding, www.jrharding.com, is a recognized disability leader with personal and professional experiences. As a quadriplegic, twice over, author of the book, ‘Now What?’, accessibility expert, and international speaker, he’s contributed to national, state, and community policy for the independence and self-sufficiency of persons with disabilities. He’s served 2 US Presidents, 4 Florida Governors, and continuously serves on a number of community-based organizations. He’s the first person with a significant disability to graduate from Leadership Florida and Leadership Tallahassee. He’s a co-founder of Florida Disability Mentoring Day. He completed his doctorate in Higher Education and Public Policy from Florida State University. He and his lovely wife Erika live and work in Tallahassee, FL.
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Max Haroon

Max Haroon, a social entrepreneur and an author, is a retired IT and e-Marketing specialist, who always has been interested in holistic health and alternative medicine. He is the founder of the Society of Internet Professionals, www.sipgroup.org, the Life Transformation Institute, www.Life-Transformation-Institute.org and the Inspirational Book Club inspirationalbookclub.org. He’s been involved in the Information Technology industry, including Internet and IT Training, for over 35 years. His work has spanned many countries. He resides in Toronto, Canada. He evangelizes leveraging the Internet and speaks at conferences and symposiums. He’s organized and hosted many educational seminars and workshops since 1997 and has authored seven books in the Life Learning Series including ‘7 Steps to Dental Health’, www.7stepsdentalhealth.com
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Rodney Harris

Rodney Harris is the Chief Executive Officer of the Motor Neurone Disease Association of Victoria, and has held this position for over 16 years. The Association provides a limited number of services that it is best placed and equipped to deliver, and works with community and health services to improve access and support for people living with MND. He has had an extensive engagement in community-based organizations, and has been on the Boards of a number of non-profit organizations. He has been a Board Member and Chairman of the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations. His work to develop palliative care services for people with life-threatening illnesses, particularly motor neurone disease, was recognized in 2005 when he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. He has a BA in Social Science and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Health Administration. He has undertaken leadership training at the School of Management, Mt Eliza, and at Stanford University. View Guest page

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Jennifer Harrison

Jennifer Harrison is the Professional Practice Advisor at the College of Respiratory Therapists of Ontario and has been a registered respiratory therapist for over 18 years. She has practiced direct patient care in various acute-care hospital settings, urban and suburban. A highlight of her career was working in a small community hospital just east of Toronto, where she was the only respiratory therapist on shift. Working there, her knowledge and experience were put to the test every day. She developed a strong sense of connection to her patients and the surrounding community. In addition to her respiratory therapist diploma, she holds an honors degree in Human Biology and a degree in Adult Education. She’s passionate about adult learning in providing safe and ethical care to the public. She believes that truly patient-centered care should include the patient, family and all of the caregivers on an inter-professional, collaborative team. View Guest page

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Dr. Dean M. Hartley

Dr. Dean M. Hartley is Director of Science Initiatives at the Alzheimer’s Association, www.alz.org. He has a leadership role in the development of the Association’s research and scientific initiatives and communicating its goals and achievements to many audiences. Before joining the Association, he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurological Sciences and conducted research at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Prior to this, he was Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and conducted research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston. He’s authored numerous publications in top scientific journals on mechanisms thought to cause neurons to become dysfunctional or die in diseases such as epilepsy, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease. He completed postdoctoral fellowships in the Departments of Medicine, Genetics, and Neurology at Harvard Medical School after completing his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Stanford University in 1991.
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Léony deGraaf Hastings

Léony deGraaf Hastings grew up in the financial industry, with her father, a top financial advisor for more than 40 years. She began her financial career in the family firm 14 years ago and since has built a successful practice as an independent Financial Advisor in Burlington, ON where she resides with her husband and three teenage children. Appreciating the time she spent with her grandparents as a child, and losing her Mom to breast cancer in 2000, she increasingly helps seniors and families with estate planning. She took specialized courses to earn her Elder Planning Counselor designation and is currently enrolled in the Certified Financial Planners self-study program. Her approach is to educate and assist retirees in simplifying their season of life by providing them with theinformation, choices and tools needed to make wise financial decisions. She is Chairperson for the Burlington Seniors & Law-enforcement Together Council educating seniors on crime-prevention.
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Sylvie Hebert

Sylvie Hebert was born in Buckingham, Quebec, Canada. With strict but loving Catholic parents, she grew up with an older sister and younger brother. At college she studied Special Care counselling. During her third year, she realized that she enjoyed working with children with different abilities. She met this wonderful guy -- she was then 16 -- finished college and followed him to Alberta. They started their own family. At the suggestion of a friend she and her husband set up a medical foster home. This gave her a career and the chance to stay home with her children so they could learn French. She and her husband love this work but the constant grieving takes a toll on their relationship and family, not an easy thing. We are caregivers, she says. We do not differentiate between who is ours and who is not. With 11 children ours is a busy, loud, explosive but loving family. It was the challenges that led to our involvement with the organization Adoption Beyond Infancy.
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Bev Heim-Myers

Bev Heim-Myers joined the Huntington Society of Canada, www.huntingtonsociety.ca, in 2010 as CEO & Executive Director. She is the Chair of the Canadian Coalition for Genetic Fairness, sits on the Governing Council of the Health Charities Coalition Canada and is an active member of the Neurological Health Charities of Canada and the National Population Health Study of Neurological Conditions. She is also on the Board of the International Huntington Association. Previously she was at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario as the Senior Manager Research and then the Regional Manager of Ontario Central West. She developed the regional strategic vision, managed the delivery for growing revenue and community presence through a variety of development initiatives and led the highest performing team in 2009. She serves as a volunteer Board Member on the Links2Care Board of Directors; is a past member of Soroptimist International, and was a fundraising lead for McMaster Children’s Hospital.
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Episode Listing:

Lee Helmer

Lee Helmer is the Director of a peer-led organization in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada, known as T.E.A.C.H., (Teach, Empower, Advocate for Community Health). Its services encompass managing anxiety workshops, self-esteem groups, concurrent disorders groups, peer mentors, and the circle of care for families. Each staff member and the forty volunteers providing services have struggled with their own mental health challenges. They are in the forefront of advocating for the principles of recovery--hope, meaningful activity, self-awareness, supportive relationships, and empowerment--and building on strengths to enable people to have a meaningful life. He is a father, a grandfather, a husband, and a career professional who has contended with acquired brain injury and a bi-polar illness. View Guest page

Episode Listing:

Dr Carl O. Helvie

Dr Carl O. Helvie, www.BeatLungCancer.net, is a registered nurse, with two masters (U of California, Johns Hopkins U) and a doctorate in public health and wellness (Johns Hopkins U) and 60 years’ experience as a nurse practitioner, educator, author, and researcher who received national recognitions including the Distinguished Career in Public Health Award from the American Public Health Association in 1999 and listings in most major national references including Who’s Who, Who’s Who in American Nursing, Outstanding Educator in America, Men of Achievement, and 2 listings in Wikipedia. He has published 8 books and chapters in 4 additional ones. He has also published or presented internationally over 100 papers and articles. He has been host of the Holistic Health Show on BBS Radio since 2008 and has also been interviewed on over 150-radio shows about his books, including ‘You Can Beat Lung Cancer Using Alternative Integrative Interventions”. View Guest page

Episode Listing:

Joe Henry

Joe Henry is Manager of Student Access at Humber College. He’s a higher education professional with over 10 years of experience supporting people with disabilities. He’s Director of Communications with the Canadian Association of Disability Services Providers in Post-Secondary Education. He holds a 2012 DiverseCity Fellowship, a year-long development program dedicated to making the Greater Toronto Area a better and more inclusive place to live, work, learn, and play. As Past-Chair of the College Committee on Disability Issues, he speaks frequently about equity and inclusion on campuses. He’s written on disability issues for The Toronto Star, The Huffington Post, and for sector- specific media published by the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services, among others. Having completed his Masters in Education (M.Ed) in Adult Education and Community Development, he’s now pursuing his Doctorate in Education (Ed.D) at Northeastern University in Boston. View Guest page

Episode Listing:

Kenneth Herman

Dr Kenneth Herman is a Board Certified Clinical Psychologist and Fellow in the American Academy of Clinical Psychologists. He is also the author of the self-help book “Secrets from the Sofa: A Psychologist’s Guide to Achieving Personal Peace.” Dr Herman was the Director of The Psychological Service in Teaneck, New Jersey for many years. He has also taught on the university level, consulted in industry, conducted research, and lectured extensively in the field of Mental Health. He has appeared on numerous radio and television programs. He currently promotes his book, which has been the recipient of many literary awards in the categories of Psychology, Mental Health, Health, as a Guide to College Students, and as The Best Personal Growth Book of the Year. Reader’s comments and reviews may be seen on his web site at: www.secretsfromthesofa.com. He also presently serves on the Board of Trustees of a free primary medical care facility in Hackensack, New Jersey for the uninsured.
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Shirley Hickman

Shirley Hickman in 2002 co-founded Threads of Life, A Workplace Tragedy Family Support Association. She’s the Executive Director and Family Program Manager. A traumatic workplace tragedy had changed forever her life and her family’s lives. Since then she’s focused on making a difference in workplace health and safety. In 2007 she received the YMCA of London’s Women of Excellence Award for Community Volunteerism and Humanity. In 2008 she became the third recipient of the IAPA-CME Health & Safety Leadership Award, which recognizes outstanding individuals who have contributed to innovation in and advancement of health and safety in the workplace and the community. In 2009, she presented at the International Labour Organization’s World Day for Safety and Health in Geneva, Switzerland, and to the XVIIth World Congress on Health and Safety. Her story has been showcased in the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s campaign for heightened injury prevention. View Guest page

Episode Listing:

Stuart Hickox

Stuart Hickox is an award-winning social entrepreneur with over 15 years’ experience in strategic communications management. He also served nine years as Managing Editor of the Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science. He is the Founder and President of One Change, http://www.onechange.org/, a charitable foundation with a unique and empowering message: Simple Actions Matter. What started in 2005 as a way to help people save money and cut greenhouse gasses has evolved into an innovative business model based on community-based social marketing. One Change designs and delivers creative community engagement campaigns that produce measurable results for utilities, governments and corporations.
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Dr. Michael Hill

Dr. Michael Hill, Professor for the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences, Community Health Sciences, Medicine and Radiology at the University of Calgary, is Director of the Stroke Unit for the Calgary Stroke Program, Alberta Health Services. He holds McGill University’s BSc in biochemistry and the University of Ottawa’s MD degree. He’s certified as a specialist in Internal Medicine and in Neurology. He undertook a stroke fellowship and clinical epidemiology training at the University of Calgary, where he completed his MSc and where he was appointed to faculty in 2001. He is currently Director of the Stroke Unit at the Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary Health Region. His research includes stroke thrombolysis, stroke epidemiology, and surveillance and clinical trials. His research is funded by the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. He holds numerous awards for his research and publication record.
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Episode Listing:

Kellie Hill

Kellie Hill is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and owner of The Right Plan, http://therightnutritionplan.com/, in Medford, Oregon. Her philosophy is that there is no one-size-fits-all diet. She explains that, because of bio-individuality (each one of us is different), most diets will work for some people and not for others. She adds that we need to eat nutrient-dense, whole foods that have been properly prepared – real food, as close to the form it was originally grown or raised in, prepared in ways that preserve or even enhance the nutritional value of the food. She’s the author of two books on how to use whole foods for health: ‘Two Week Weight Loss Program’ and ‘Cleanse and Detoxify Your Body’.
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Támara Hill, MS

Támara Hill, MS, is an integrative therapist, working in Pennsylvania. She uses cognitive behavior therapy and existential principles, and specializes in child and adolescent behavioral and mood disorders including trauma. She works with families to help them understand their options within the mental health system and helps kids utilize their strengths in the home, school, and community. She’s is passionate about empowering families to gain further knowledge and rediscover authentic living. She understands the pressures that greet families and caregivers in the mental health system. Her training in counseling psychology taught her practical and professional lessons about the healthcare system and the various legal, financial, and insurance-related difficulties that challenge the core of a country’s moral ethics. Through PsychCentral, http://blogs.psychcentral.com/caregivers/, she markets her services to families and caregivers who feel alone in the system. View Guest page

Episode Listing:

Dr. Stephen Hoag

Dr. Stephen Hoag’s career includes teaching, researching, writing, administering and creating programs for students in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. His PhD dissertation was titled “All-Student Construct”. He began work in 1973 at the Norristown Area High School, Pennsylvania, where his students won the national No.1 ranking in a special program. He wrote and produced a student-performed musical, “Decades of Diamonds” that won national acclaim. He was honored as the Greater Philadelphia Teacher of the Year. In 1977 he joined the Connecticut State Department of Education where he created a statewide student organization, the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America. He created, developed and continues to administer the first statewide assessment program for career and technical education in Connecticut. He’s the coordinator for the United States Senate Youth Program and Blue Ribbon Schools. His book, “A Son’s Handbook, Bringing up Mother with Alzheimer’s/Dementia”, was published in 2013.
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Episode Listing:

Brian D. Hodges

Brian D. Hodges, MD, PhD, FRCPC, is Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Education at the University of Toronto, the Richard and Elizabeth Currie Chair in Health Professions Education Research at the Wilson Centre for Research in Education, Senior Fellow, Massey College, and Vice President, Education at the University Health Network. He leads the AMS Phoenix Project, A Call to Caring, http://www.theamsphoenix.ca/, an initiative to rebalance the technical and compassionate dimensions of healthcare. His research focuses on the nature and construction of various aspects of health professional education and practice: competence, assessment, professionalism, and globalization. Together with colleagues at McGill University, he is currently undertaking a 3-year project, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, to study the discourses of excellence, diversity and equity in Canadian medical schools admissions processes.
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Episode Listing:

Paul R. Hogan

Paul R. Hogan
Founded in 1994 by Lori and Paul Hogan, Home Instead Senior Care grew into the largest senior-care business of its kind in the world. Since then, it has provided services to more than 500,000 seniors through a network of more than 800 franchise offices in North America, Europe and elsewhere. Paul was named the Entrepreneur of the Year for 2006 by the International Franchise Association. Paul and Lori’s success in exporting their home-care business concept was recognized in May 2008 at a White House ceremony, where they received the “E” Award of the US Department of Commerce. This is one of the highest honors the federal government presents for significant contributions to American exports. In 2008, the Hogans became anchor donors for the Home Instead Center for Successful Aging at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The goal is to find solutions with the potential to touch the lives of seniors around the world, to help them age more successfully.
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Episode Listing:

Christine Holloway

Christine Holloway received Ilene, her hearing ear dog guide, in December of 2009. Christine’s hearing problems developed many years previously and steadily worsened. She was born and raised in Peterborough, Ontario, and is married with two adult children. She attended Queen’s University and the Nightingale School of Nursing, and taught at the St Joseph’s School of Nursing in Peterborough. In 1988, she began volunteering with the Lions Foundation of Canada. First, she was a “foster parent” for dog guides. In all, she fostered 18 of them. In 2005, she moved to Oakville as a volunteer at the Lions Foundation of Canada’s dog guides training centre.
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Episode Listing:

Steven Holmes

Steven Holmes is the Chief Bouncing Officer of Springfree Trampoline. He founded the company in 2003 and has overseen its growth to over 340 employees globally. He’s responsible for operations in North America and strategic business development and growth initiatives word wide. Previously he founded VerifEye Technologies Inc., a world leader in security surveillance for the mobile workplace. Previously he participated in the creation and growth of ClubLink Corporation, Canada's largest private golf course operator, and Advantex Marketing International. Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and currently lives in Toronto. He Chairs the Board of Tyndale University College and Seminary and the Board of the Paul Henderson Legacy Foundation. The Holmes Family is actively involved in the Youth Unlimited in Toronto and the Canadian Camp Association, among others. He’s a charted accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Ryerson University.
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Episode Listing:

Mabel Horton

Mabel Horton is a registered nurse with a Masters in Public Administration. Since 2002, she’s worked with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. Her work with the Assembly involves partnering with the federal and provincial governments, in such areas as eCHART, the Regional TeleHealth Partnership table. Her work also involves eHealth, as the eHealth Coordinator. Her Coordinator work focuses on teleHealth and Panorama, a communicable disease surveillance system being developed nationally and regionally. She previously worked in northern Manitoba and Nunavut as a nurse in an extended role, as a public health nurse with Manitoba Health, as an Aboriginal Liaison Coordinator for the Burntwood Regional Health Authority, with First Nation political organizations in health policy, on the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Continuing Care Research & Costing Project , and the Assembly’s Patient Wait Times Guarantee Project, in which Saint Elizabeth Healthcare was a partner. She’s from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation. View Guest page

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HOST (Dr. Gordon Atherley)

Dr. Gordon Atherley founded Family Caregivers Unite as an Internet Radio talk show on VoiceAmerica to empower family caregivers by amplifying their voice, spreading their vision, and publicizing their value, and by providing them with information that’s trustworthy, understandable and useful. He founded it because he learned the importance of family caregiving from his own experience of a family history of schizophrenia and from his own work as a physician. He founded EQualitative Research, a project that links human insight with advanced computer-based methods for qualitative research. This is research focused on individuals’ personal experiences of mental and physical illnesses and persistent disabilities, and, of course, family caregiving. He founded EQualitative Research based on his experience of listening to family caregivers telling their stories on Family Caregivers Unite. He founded EQualitative Research based on his experience as a medical researcher.
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Episode Listing:

Alicia Howes

Alicia Howes, founder of Your Soul Story, www.yoursoulstory.com, and international soul connection expert, has explored thousands of Soul Stories worldwide for over a decade. Her health crisis 14 years ago led not only to her own healing but also to a whole new way of looking at life as a healer: intuitive coach and teacher. Exploring soul story records is the most effective tool for healing that she’s encountered. She’s passionate about sharing it with others. With her intuitive insight, caring approach and powerful guidance, she empowers her clients to start, expand and end all kinds of chapters in their lives. She focuses on helping her clients connect to their authentic self, author their stories, and let go of all the stuff that stifles their joy. She sees her clients' potential and shines that back to them with love, light and often shared laughter. An experienced speaker and teacher to large and small groups, she loves to connect with people through radio, TV and seminars.
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Episode Listing:

Patrick Hughes

Inclusion Solutions, www.inclusionsolutions.com, founder Pat Hughes had previously created the non-profit ‘Natural Ties’ and served as its executive director. Natural Ties was dedicated to fostering relationships and friendships between people with disabilities and those without. Under his leadership it grew to include 14 chapters around the country. His work on promoting social inclusion led him to realize that as well as psychological barriers, the disabled also had to contend with physical barriers that impeded interaction—going out to a restaurant, shopping, or visiting an office. He began talking to business owners in his home town of Evanston, Illinois, and learned that some were aware of the access issues and some were not. Most were willing to make changes but had only been presented solutions that were beyond their economic means. That understanding was the impetus for Inclusion Solutions.
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Episode Listing:

Patricia Hung

Patricia Hung is a police officer with over 20 years’ experience, business owner, certified grief coach, author, and a speaker. She’s the owner of Coaching Joy, http://www.coachingjoy.com/, a grief coaching organization that specializes in coaching both privately and at the corporate level to improve poor employee performance that is attributed to grief and suffering. She brings a unique perspective because of her experience policing and as the mother of a murdered child. She’s a member of the board of the iCAVEAT National Victim Advisory Committee and co-chairs the Toronto Police Service's Victim Witness Advisory Committee. She’s currently spearheading a project to improve services for victims and witnesses of crime in the newly formed Victim Witness Support Unit. Her work has been published in Canadian Family Magazine and she is the author of ‘Seven Helpful Ways to Support Those Who Grieve’. She lives in Toronto with her husband and five children.
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Episode Listing:

Gail Hunt

Gail Hunt is President & CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving, a non-profit coalition dedicated to research and national programs for family caregivers and professionals who serve them. Previously she was President of her own aging services consulting firm. She’s conducted corporate eldercare research for the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration, developed training for caregivers with AARP and the American Occupational Therapy Association, and designed a corporate eldercare program for the Employee Assistance Professional Association. She was appointed by the White House to serve on the Policy Committee for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging. She was on the Advisory Panel on Medicare Education, is chair of the National Center on Senior Transportation, is a Commissioner of the Center for Aging Service Technology, and is Secretary of the Long-Term Quality Alliance. She’s on the Governing Board of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.
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Episode Listing:

Linda Hurren

Linda Hurren is President and Director of York Autism Centre. Established in 2008, it offers services for children and families within the autism spectrum including IBI, social skills classes, tutoring services and camp programs. She’s now starting “The Making Small Talk Academy”, www.makingsmalltalk.com. A classroom within a typical school, it offers the full Ontario curriculum online. Students are supported as required to enable them as individuals to excel in areas of promise. Support includes development of social skills with their peers in the school environment. She’s experienced as a residential social worker living with adults in a community teaching independence skills. She’s worked in a newly established community classroom for children with Asperger Syndrome. After 4 years in the classroom, she set up her business to support to families struggling with the many challenges confronting their children. She started by offering social-skills classes from a local church hall.
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Episode Listing:

Zakir Hussain

Zakir Hussain is the Founder, Chairman, President and CEO of Velo Mobile Health, http://www.velomobilehealth.com/. He is also the President and CEO of VeloSolutions, a telecommunications wholesaler based in Toronto and the founder of Pharmavida S.A., a pharmaceutical distributor incorporated and based in Guatemala. He has served as founder and CEO of JustSolar Corporation, Director of Marketing at CDI Education Corporation, and Analyst at Venture Development Corporation. In addition to his impressive credentials, he is fluent in English, Italian and Bengali and he possesses a working knowledge of Hindi, Urdu, Spanish and French. He has a BA from Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, and a MBA with distinction from Bentley University, Waltham, MA.
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Episode Listing:

Kristen Irvine

Kristen Irvine lives in Aylmer, Québec. She graduated with honours from the Personal Support Worker Program and Certification Exam at Ontario’s Thames Valley District School Board Adult and Continuing Education. She participated in the Information Series on Alzheimer’s disease. Her experience includes working with patients with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in a lock-down unit, work in private home care, and services of companionship sitting. She’s currently supporting her grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s disease, and who lives at the Glebe Center, a long-term care home. She also works with Down syndrome clients to help them to learn daily tasks, and to help them integrate into a social environment. She also volunteers as an activities administrator and coordinator.
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Episode Listing:

Winston Isaac

Dr. Winston Isaac is a co-founder of The Walnut Foundation, a Men’s Health Interest and Support group dedicated to development and education of Black men and the Black community in taking responsibility for their health. He is Associate Professor in the School of Health Services Management at Ryerson University in Toronto. His holds undergraduate degrees in Science, Psychology and Business Administration. At the Master’s level, he holds degrees in Adult Education and Health Administration & Policy. He holds a PhD in Adult and Continuing Education. His academic career includes Program Director at the Michener Institute, Program Coordinator with Ryerson’s Chang School, and Director for Ryerson’s School of Health Services Management. He is a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders. His healthcare experience includes Health Policy Analyst with the Ontario’s health Ministry and reviewer for accrediting health administration programs across North America.
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Episode Listing:

Dr. Cynthia Jacobs

Dr. Cynthia Jacobs is Regional Manager, Americas, Training & Research Consultancy, with QSR International. She holds a master's degree in Community Social Psychology and a doctorate in Education. In her role with QSR, she’s worked with health researchers including physicians and social scientists, along with researchers in many other fields, in support of their qualitative data analysis.

Her own qualitative and mixed methods research has included a study of a writing intervention with adolescent mothers in a public high school, and a case study of a struggling school district, looking at hope among its teachers. She continues to have research interests in writing as a therapeutic tool and methodological challenges.
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Krista James

Krista James is National Director of the Canadian Centre for Elder Law, www.bcli.org, and a staff lawyer with the British Columbia Law Institute. Her work involves policy analysis, legal research, law reform, public legal education, and providing advice to government on legal issues impacting older people and family caregivers. She works with people from health care, law, labor, finance and justice. She’s written and spoken on abuse and neglect of older people, financial elder abuse, financial literacy, adult guardianship, mental capacity and family caregiving. She was lead author of the Centre’s study paper, Care/Work: Law Reform to Support Family Caregivers to Balance Paid Work and Unpaid Caregiving. She’s currently developing educational materials for older people and practitioners and volunteers who work with older people. Prior to joining the Centre, she practiced labor law. She’s worked with legal clinics, women’s centers and community organizations serving low-income people.
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Episode Listing:

Anna Marie Jaworski

Anna Marie Jaworski is the mother of a son with a severe congenital heart defect (CHD). He endured two open-heart surgeries in his first year of life. His surgeon told her and husband Frank that he was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. He underwent a revision of his last surgery at age 17 and had a Maze Procedure to stave off future arrhythmias. With a lack of information for parents, she wrote a book about the syndrome and started a publishing company for the CHD community, http://www.babyheartspress.com/. She started a support group for CHD parents in Central Texas and became a public speaker. Joey, her heart-healthy son, inspired her to write a second book, ‘My Brother Needs an Operation’. Later, she started sharing stories with other CHD parents to educate and inspire them. Encouraged by these parents, she became the editor of two books, ‘The Heart of a Mother and The Heart of a Father’. The books provide hope, encouragement, support and education to the CHD community.
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Episode Listing:

Dr. Ruwan Jayatunge

Dr. Ruwan Jayatunge graduated from the Vinnitsa National Medical University Ukraine and joined the Ministry of Health, Government of Sri Lanka. He worked closely with Sri Lankan war veterans and civilians affected by the war. He studied in considerable depth the impact of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder. He became one of the pioneers in the study of its psychosocial effects in Sri Lanka. He has written several books and published several research articles that recount war trauma in Sri Lanka. In 2006 he visited the United States where he delivered at the Washburn University Kansas and the Coatesville VA Medical Center in Pennsylvania several lectures on war trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. He took training in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing under the renowned Philadelphia Psychologist, Dr. Susan Rogers. He is currently advancing his studies in psychology at York University, Toronto, Canada. View Guest page

Episode Listing:

Joryn Jenkins

Joryn Jenkins is a trial attorney with 36 years of courtroom experience, now in private practice at Open Palm Law, http://openpalmlaw.com/, in Tampa, Florida. She received her bachelor’s from Yale University when she was nineteen years old and her J.D. from Georgetown in Washington, D.C. She is the former editor-in-chief of both The Federal Lawyer and The Bencher magazines and the author of six books, including War or Peace (Avoid the Destruction of Divorce Court ), available on Amazon.com. She has received an award granted only to one person each year in the United States Supreme Court. While her focus during most of her 36 years in practice has centered on legal ethics and professionalism, her mission recently has morphed, to “change the way the world gets divorced,” to enlighten folks as to which choices will fit their families best when it comes to the process of divorce.
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Episode Listing:

Sherry Johnson

Sherry Johnson has adopted three granddaughters who have been with her for ten years. They came into her care through the courts in the State of Hawaii which removed them from their parents and placed them in foster care. Their biological parents’ rights were terminated and rescinded in 2000. Her daughter is the girls’ birth mother. The girls were exposed to drugs and alcohol prenatally. They had been severely abused and neglected by both parents, and by the foster care parents while in State custody.
Sherry’s experience includes working with children and caring for them. It includes her life as a parent, former foster parent, step-parent, juvenile probation and parole officer, and all-round guardian. Her goal throughout is to assure the children of their rights.
Through the concept of Kinship Care, she says, those who are entrusted with the care and nurturing of children within their own families are finding a greater voice both as advocates for the children and each other.
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Episode Listing:

Dr. Will Johnston

Dr. Will Johnston has practiced family medicine for over 30 years. His practice has included emergency room, obstetrics, and the full age range of general medical practice including care of older people. He has performed dozens of legal competency assessments, a task which has increased his familiarity with various aspects of elder abuse. He became concerned about the dangers of assisted suicide and euthanasia in 1990. He debated this topic with Dr. Jack Kevorkian on CBC television in 1993. He has since become more concerned by warning signs that all is not well in those few jurisdictions which permit assisted suicide and euthanasia. He is keen to warn those who wish to preserve their autonomy and end-of-life choices that assisted suicide laws may not deliver on these objectives. He is the Chair of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition of BC, www.epcbc.ca. View Guest page

Episode Listing:

Shauna Johnston

Shauna Johnston, RN, BScN, BSc, is a mental health and addictions nurse with Mississauga Halton Community Care Access Centre. Originally from Cape Breton Island, she has more than 10 years’ experience working with youth, most recently with Brant County Health. She enjoys working with youth and teens, and developing community partnerships. She likes working in the community, believes strongly in prevention and early intervention, and meets clients where they are. One of her students told her, “You must be a really chill mom”; another said, “I really want to see you every week.” She’s an advocate for her clients. She helps them access the services they need. In one instance, she helped a student who loved playing ice hockey but could not afford to play. She called the local arena and arranged for the student to play for free. “We are providing wrap-a-round services. I help the family understand the diagnosis. I put services in place and manage those services,” she says.
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Episode Listing:

Alicia Jones

Alicia Jones is the proud owner of Destination Fit, www.destinationfit.ca, a mobile personal training company that makes fitness convenient for everyone. She and her team of trainers go to family caregivers in their own homes, their offices or visit with them in a studio. Throughout her 8 years of experience, she remains loyal and committed to helping her clients reach their specific goals, whether weight loss, improved overall health, increased energy or increased self-esteem. She tailors health and fitness plans that take into consideration the family caregiver’s lifestyle. Her expert credentials include specialized honours in Kinesiology and International Development from York University, National coach of Canada certification, Can fit Pro, and YMCA personal training specialist, Yogafit instructor, and advanced sport nutrition. She continues to take courses at York University to ensure she brings her clientele the most up to date health information available.
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Episode Listing:

Kevin Jones

Kevin Jones is Secretary General of the European Federation of Associations of Families of People with Mental Illness www.eufami.org. His current positions include Council Member of SHINEIreland (supporting people with mental ill health and their families), Member of Mental Health Tribunals – Ireland, National Organiser with ACROSS Ireland, a voluntary organisation for persons with physical disabilities, and Co-Chair of REFOCUS, the College of Psychiatry of Ireland Service User & Family Member / Carers Forum. His career includes Chair of the Board of Beaumont Hospital, Ireland, 1997 – 2000, Member of the Irish Health and Social Care Professionals Council, National Chairperson and Treasurer of SHINE, 2000 – 2008, Board member of Children in Hospital Ireland. He’s worked in a number of high profile international information technology and communication companies.
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Steve Joordens

Professor Steve Joordens is a cognitive psychologist who specializes in research in memory and consciousness. A faculty member at the University of Toronto Scarborough since 1995, he’s taught a wide range of courses including Memory and Cognition, Statistics and, most recently, the Introduction to Psychology class. He won the Premier’s Research Excellence Award in 2001 for his research on memory and, with his PhD student Dwayne Pare, won the National Technology Innovation Award in 2009 for the development and research of peerScholar, an online tool to support the development of critical thinking skills. He has also won a number of teaching awards including the President’s Teaching Award, the highest award for teaching at the University of Toronto, and the Leadership in Faculty Teaching Award from the province of Ontario. He has twice been a finalist in TVO’s Best Lecturer Competition and most recently has recorded a course with The Great Courses entitled Memory Across the Lifespan.
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Christian Joubert

Christian Joubert, a former professor of public law, organic farmer and naturopath in France, has directed a holistic health retreat center in the Eastern Pyrénées and has promoted holistic medicine in Europe and the United States. His focus is holistic oncology, which combines integrative oncology and advanced medicine, www.holisticoncologymovie.com. As a lawyer, he’s litigated constitutional, products liability, tobacco racketeering, medical and legal malpractice actions in the US as well as human rights cases at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. As visiting adjunct Law Professor at the Gonzaga Law School in Spokane, Wa, he set up the international human rights law section. He was educated the Bordeaux’s Law School, Pierre et Marie Curie Faculty of Medicine in France, the Association scientifique des médecins acupuncteurs de France, and Ceredor and Jus Cogens Institute, among other educational institutions in Israel, the United States and Europe.
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Anne Jovanović

Anne Jovanović, an ardent supporter of autism advocacy groups and grassroots initiatives and, in her own right, is a vocal advocate for improved autism services for children and adults. She posts daily to a Facebook page she moderates, http://ow.ly/nQuUh, sharing news in autism research, tips and tricks on living with autism in Ontario, and her own views on what it is like to raise a child with severe autism in Canada today. She’s happily married to Dušan Jovanović and step-mother to Neša (her neurotypical, 11-year-old step-son) and mother to Mića, her 5 1/2 year old severely autistic son. The Jovanović family lives just outside Ottawa, in a rural farming community where all of the neighbours know the family and embrace the wonders and weirdness that living with autism can bring. The family shares their homestead with their Labrador-Retriever mix, Fluffy, who does his best to nudge out the boys for Mom and Dad's attention, and 4 "layer" chickens.
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Dr. Fred Kahn

Dr. Fred Kahn, MD, FRCS(C), is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery. For 18 years prior to initiating research in the field of Low Intensity Laser Therapy, he conducted an extensive surgical practice in Southern California and for 8 years served as Chief of Staff at a major hospital in Santa Ana, California. In 1989, he founded Meditech International Inc., which developed the BioFlex Series of Laser Therapy Systems, www.bioflexlaser.com. With basic research, scientific knowledge and clinical expertise, it developed protocols for numerous medical conditions including soft tissue and sports injuries, arthritis, back problems, wounds and many dermatological problems. Protocols are continuingly refined at the Meditech Rehabilitation Centres where up to 800 treatments are administered weekly. Clinics using BioFlex Laser Therapy Systems are established in fifty countries and over 2 million treatments have been administered without any significant complications or adverse effects.
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Dr. Donna Kalauokalani

Dr. Donna Kalauokalani received her medical degree from the University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine. She completed post-graduate training in Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology at Washington University in St. Louis, and additional training in Pain Management, Preventive Medicine, Public Health, and Health Services Research at the University of Washington in Seattle where she completed a prestigious fellowship in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar’s program and obtained her master’s degree in Public Health. She co-founded the Disparities in Pain section of the American Pain Society. She advocates for equal access to treatment and educates practitioners and policy makers about optimal pain treatment in various settings. She currently practices Pain Management in Folsom, California and serves as President of the Board for the American Chronic Pain Association. The mission of the ACPA is to facilitate peer support and education for those with chronic pain
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Steve Kalaydjian

Steve Kalaydjian is a student of Social Work at Dalhousie University; Program Assistant at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; Telephone Support Volunteer at Toronto Distress Centers; and Peer Support Volunteer at the Family Resource Centre at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. After 15 years of working in the private sector in Information Technology, he now channels his energy to the field of mental health. He brings a renewed sense of purpose and a relatively fresh perspective of working in a helping profession. He believes strongly in conveying a message of hope to people with mental illness and their familie and friends, and yet is acutely aware of some of the challenges they may face.
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Brianna Kane

Brianna Kane, is eighteen years old and attends St. Michael High School in Niagara Falls. She has two older brothers. One is training to become a doctor. The younger brother has Down syndrome and works for her mother at home. Her father is Chief of Police and her mother owns a business. She’s an assistant coach to the younger brother’s hockey team and a Big Sister to a 12 year old girl named Maddie, who has floating harbor syndrome, a rare genetic disease associated with multiple health problems. Maddie is a big part of Brianna’s life. Singing and writing are Brianna’s passions. She also loves to hike, snowboard and swim. She’s recently been accepted at College to study Event Planning. View Guest page

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Kathy Kastner

Kathy Kastner is Founder, Editor and Publisher of Ability4Life.com. She launched it in February 2010 to meet a need: information gaps faced by adult children caring for aging parents. With its monthly traffic increasing exponentially, Ability4Life has garnered keen interest. Prior to Ability4Life.com, she pioneered North America’s premier and award-winning hospital-based health education television networks, The Parent Channel® and Healthtv™. These networks broadcast health information to patients and healthcare professionals in the largest top-ranked teaching hospitals across North America. As CEO and chief strategist, she grew the service from a 45-bed pilot to an international, multi-talented organization, reaching more than 21,000 beds. She’s an invited speaker and participant at healthcare conferences and health forums. She’s conducted workshops, lectures and plenary sessions at respected international healthcare communications symposia in Canada and the US.
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Chris Kata

Chris Kata is Director, Caregiving Matters, www.caregivingmatters.ca. His professional experience includes over 14 years of complex e-business and e-commerce application design and project management. He spent the first part of his professional life as a partner at Whitecap Canada Inc., in Toronto. In 2006, he says, he got hooked on the internet marketing side of the business when customers kept asking him why his corporate website outranked theirs. The internet marketing side of the business would not leave him alone, he says, so he started Spark Internet Marketing with three other partners. Until 2012 he spent all of his time and experience developing the business with his partners and enjoying the services they offered their customers. In January 2012 he decided to make another move and join the outstanding team at Axiom Real-Time Metrics as their Chief Innovation Officer working on new product development, marketing and new business initiatives.
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Marc Kealey

With 30 years’ experience in healthcare management and advocacy, Marc Kealey is a leading voice for transformation in health care, most notably drug reform. He’s the Chief Advocate at K&A Inc., http://kealeyandassociates.com/, a public policy and management consultancy with clients in Canada and abroad. His success results from many years of experience in governance, public policy development and health care management. Prior to founding K&A in 2007, he was CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists’ Association, the largest professional organization serving the interests of pharmacists in Canada. At Whitby General Hospital he was President through the transition from community hospital to join the Lakeridge Health System. From 1984 to 1990 he was an advisor to former Prime Minster of Canada and later Leader of the Official Opposition, Rt. Hon. John N. Turner. He is a graduate of St. Jerome’s University at the University of Waterloo in Ontario and attended Kent State University in Ohio.
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Teresa Kellerman

Teresa Kellerman is Director of the FAS Community Resource Center in Tucson, Arizona. She’s the adoptive parent of a young man with FAS. She’s a popular speaker because of her personal experience and success as a parent, her extensive knowledge of current research, and her unique use of skits, poems, and props. With her 30 years experience, she supports families, and consults with professionals. She trains educators, social workers and foster parents. She facilitates support groups for families and caregivers. She’s a certified FASD trainer for the US federal government’s FASD Center for Excellence, the US Department of Justice, and the Native American Alliance Foundation. She’s the Fetal Alcohol Resource Coordinator for the State of Arizona. She’s produced guidelines for teachers in positive behavior support programs. She’s an author, including a chapter in a popular book on FAS, “Fantastic Antone Grows Up” published by University of Alaska Press. Visit her www.fasstar.com www.fasstar.com
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Daniel & Rosemary Kelly

Daniel Kelly is a retired national vice chairman and group managing partner of the Deloitte & Touche Accounting firm. Rosemary Kelly, a former teacher, is a homemaker and energetic mother of four and grandmother of nine. Their lives changed drastically in the late 1980s when their son John was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Following difficult episodes and hospitalizations, they searched for a program that would provide the treatment and follow-up care that would make a lasting difference to him. Failing to find the type of center they sought, they conceived of and created Rose Hill Center, a residential psychiatric rehabilitation program, www.rosehillcenter.org. With the help of friends, family, mental health professionals, corporations and foundations, they established a dedicated board of directors, raised the funds to buy a 372-acre parcel in Holly, Michigan, erected buildings, hired a medical and administrative team and, in 1992, welcomed the first residents to Rose Hill Center.
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Kathleen Kelly

Kathleen Kelly is Executive Director of Family Caregiver Alliance, a national US nonprofit organization providing direct family caregiver support services, public policy development, research and public awareness. She oversees the Bay Area Caregiver Resource Center’s direct services in the San Francisco Bay Area, California policy collaborations, and the National Center on Caregiving. The Alliance promoted the first legislation in the country for supportive services for family caregivers. It was first to recognize needs for specialized services for family caregivers caring for adults with chronic conditions. During her tenure, it grew from a grassroots program to a national organization providing leadership on supporting family caregivers with best practice interventions, public policy, state system development and leading-edge research. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and daughters. She has been a caregiver for several family members over the years. http://is.gd/R0ICUI
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Sue Kelly

Sue Kelly is a registered nurse with a specialization in public health nursing. She’s Director of Health & Wellness with We Care Health Services, in Toronto, Ontario. For Alzheimer’s disease, she rolled-out to the We Care Network a dedicated care program, one of seven such programs on the Network. Also for Alzheimer’s disease, as part of her voluntary work, she’s the organizer of Alzheimer’s Coffee Break Day. She’s developed a partnership with the Canadian Diabetes Association which includes clinical programs and educational courses for personal service workers. She’s project manager for the “Remote Access to Care Technology partnership”, which provides wireless biometric screening for people with chronic diseases. She’s involved in organizing workshops on Home Telehealth. She’s facilitated courses for service providers in palliative care, among her other work and voluntary activities. And she also has personal family caregiver experience. View Guest page

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Rabia Khedr

Rabia Khedr is a Human Rights Trainer and Consultant with her own company diversityworX, www.diversityworx.com/. She conducts disability awareness and diversity workshops for corporations, community organizations and government. She’s Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Muslims with Disabilities and a board member of the Federation of Muslim Women. She chairs the City of Mississauga Accessibility Advisory Committee and sits on the Ontario Women's Health Network Board. She’s active in raising awareness about disability issues, women’s rights and Islamaphobia. She’s worked with non-profit organizations and corporations to ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities and people from diverse backgrounds. She’s a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. She’s mother of 4 and recently completed her MA at York University. She was profiled in “Extraordinary Lives: Inspiring Women of Peel” by the Canadian Federation of University Women’s Mississauga Chapter.
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Tasha Kheiriddin

Tasha Kheiriddin is a writer and broadcaster based in the greater Toronto area. Her columns appear weekly in the National Post and on iPolitics.ca and she can be heard regularly on CTV NewsChannel, CBC Radio’s The House, and in French on RDI’s Le Telejournal. Born and raised in Montreal, she has led a varied career in law, politics, media, public policy and communications. She has produced and hosted television programmes, co-authored the best-selling ‘Rescuing Canada's Right: Blueprint for a Conservative Revolution’, served as Director of the Fraser Institute in Quebec, and lectured on conservative policies at McGill University. She has received several awards for her media work including the 2003 Justicia Prize for broadcasting from the Canadian Bar Association and the 2012 Award for Economic Education from the Montreal Economic Institute. She is a mother of one, stepmom of two, and currently lives with her family in Whitby, Ontario.
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Viki Kind

Viki Kind is a clinical bioethicist, medical educator and hospice volunteer. She’s a family caregiver with many years of experience caring for four members of her family. Her most recent book, “The Caregiver’s Path to Compassionate Decision Making: Making Choices For Those Who Can't,” guides families and healthcare professionals through the complex process of making decisions for those who are losing or have lost the ability to think. Across the United States she teaches healthcare professionals to have integrity and compassion, and how to improve end-of-life care through better communication. Her approach to dealing with challenging healthcare situations is relied on by patients, families and healthcare professionals. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in speech communication from California State University at Northridge and a Master’s degree in bioethics from the Medical College of Wisconsin. She also has specialized training in mediation from Pepperdine University and UCLA. View Guest page

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Jason King

Jason King and Redford, a three-year-old male yellow Labrador, is Jason’s second Dog Guide. They have been partners for a year and a half. Jason is a member of the Peterborough Lions club, a volunteer with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, a spokesperson for Lions Foundation of Canada, and a devoted father and husband. He is happily married to his wife, Melissa. They have a 6 year old daughter Rhiannon. He’s just completed the Social Service Worker Program at Fleming College, his second diploma in the Service field. He already holds a Drug and Alcohol Diploma, and has aspirations of completing both his Bachelor’s degree and his Masters in Social Service studies. He wants to pursue a career in the social services field working with disabled individuals as a Community Developer and Advocate. He’s currently looking for work in Peterborough. View Guest page

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Louise Kinross

Louise Kinross is special projects manager at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, http://www.hollandbloorview.ca/, and editor of BLOOM, http://bloom-parentingkidswithdisabilities.blogspot.ca/, a magazine on parenting children with disabilities. BLOOM gives voice to the joys and challenges of special-needs parenting and promotes the concept that every child ‘blooms’ in his or her own unique way. The blog reaches readers in 150 countries and has been picked up by the New York Times, Huffington Post and AOL Online. Louise has a 19-year-old son Ben, who has a rare genetic disorder.
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Estée Klar

Estée Klar is founder and executive director of The Autism Acceptance Project www.taaproject.com. She’s the mother of a young autistic son, Adam. She is a writer and a curator of art by profession, and a graduate student of Critical Disability Studies at York University. For her, art is the best way to present some of the more pressing and thought-provoking issues for autism, such as human rights, inclusion, art and writing, which she lectures on at universities and organizations throughout North America. She began this work when she noticed that autistic people are so often missing from committees in schools, workplaces, and community programs. She saw the need to change some perspectives on autism. She spent time traveling across North America to meet autistic self-advocates and their families. She began the Autism Acceptance Project to support autistic individuals to advocate for themselves so that they receive the accommodations they need to contribute to society as they are. View Guest page

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Dr. Marshall Korenblum

Dr. Marshall Korenblum is Psychiatrist-in-Chief of The Hincks-Dellcrest Centre, www.hincksdellcrest.org, a children’s mental health treatment, research, and teaching center located in Toronto, Canada. He is also Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, at the University of Toronto. He is also on staff at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre’s Division of Youth Psychiatry in Toronto, and consults to a Children's Aid Society. His main interests are in Mood Disorders in adolescents, and in public education. To that end, he has been instrumental in producing a number of educational videos, designed to de-stigmatize mental illness in youth, and he has worked closely with schools and children's mental health agencies to promote awareness of psychological issues. He was Chair of the Education Committee of the Canadian Academy of Child Psychiatry for two years, and Director of Postgraduate Education for the Division of Child Psychiatry, University of Toronto, for more than ten years.
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Colleen Krebs

Colleen Krebs hails from Aurora, Colorado. She’s the team lead for Homewatch CareGivers’ Pathways to Memory program. This is a targeted, memory-enhancing program designed to stimulate and enhance cognitive abilities for persons with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and other memory impairing illnesses. She’s been with Homewatch CareGivers for little more than year, and in that time has taken over 40 classes from Homewatch CareGivers. University with specific focus on the company’s Pathways to Memory program, earning a wealth of continuing education credits along the way. She was recently honored by Homewatch CareGivers as its Caregiver of the Year. She’s currently working towards a degree as a certified nursing assistant. She has considerable personal and family experience as a family caregiver.
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James P. Krehbiel

James P. Krehbiel, Ed.S., LPC, CCBT, is an educator, writer, licensed professional counselor and nationally certified cognitive-behavioral therapist practicing in Scottsdale, Arizona. He specializes in treating anxiety, depression and the emotional effects of pain management issues. He served as a teacher and guidance counselor for 30 years and has taught graduate-level counselor education courses for Chapman University. In 2005, he self-published ‘Stepping Out of the Bubble: Reflections on the Pilgrimage of Counseling Therapy’ (Booklocker.com). His latest book, ‘Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life: Healing from the Battle Scars of Youth’ (New Horizon Press) is about the impact of troubled childhoods on adult functioning. He can be reached through his website at www.scottsdaletherapy.net. View Guest page

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Arthur Kupperman

Arthur Kupperman has been an entrepreneur for more than 30 years, after deciding to leave the field of public accounting. His most recent venture, My Web Portal, Inc., was started in July 2009 with the idea of building niche market web portals to allow marketers to focus on specific demographics as well as provide viewers with an easy way to use the internet for areas of interest to them. His first niche market portal was designed for the 55+ demographic and the beta web portal was released mid-February 2010. This portal has grown on a consistent basis and the concept is therefore validated (www.myseniorportal.com). The next niche market portal will be designed, developed and released before the end of 2012. View Guest page

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Chuck & Diane Kyd

Chuck and Diane Kyd cofounded Camphill Communities in Ontario, http://www.camphill.on.ca/. Home to 30 residents, 70 staff, and 15 day participants, it’s located on 290 rural acres near Angus and at downtown Barrie. Since their training in Camphill Special Schools in Pennsylvania, they’ve transitioned many people with complex needs from a disability-focused to a person-directed culture. Their approach to seamless flows of supports welcomes and nourishes individual needs and choices, expands skills and interests, and helps create networks of sustainable supports and friendships. They believe in the gift of safe and happy relationships and that people with complex needs need our help in developing and maintaining those relationships. Their goal is developing strong and skilled staff of supporters, facilitating a warm circle of family and friends, and creating opportunities for each individual to have choices, meaningful work, social and cultural experiences in a safe and joyful context.
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Lori La Bey

Lori La Bey describes herself as a Driver of Change. Her mission is to shift society’s negative perception of aging and illness. She specializes in the psychosocial aspects of Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss. She believes that, by removing the fear, embarrassment, and judgment that together cripple our relationships, we can enhance our connections with the people we love and care for. On her Blog ‘AlzheimersSpeaks.com’ she provides a resource directory along with links to her YouTube Channel and more. She guides businesses, organizations, and individuals on how to improve service delivery and enhance relationships between Patients and Professional and Family Caregivers. She is a professional speaker who can be hired as a consultant on shifting business culture for providing personalized training to organizations and groups. View Guest page

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Dr. Christopher Labos

Dr. Christopher Labos did his medical training at McGill University, Canada, and has received specialist certification in Internal Medicine and Cardiology. He later earned a Master’s degree in Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health also from McGill. He currently conducts research in genetic factors that contribute to heart disease risk. He has presented at a number of national and international conferences and has several peer reviewed publications in major medical journals. He is a regular contributor to the Montreal Gazette and often speaks about health related issues, specifically about epidemiological bias in medical research.
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Michelle LaBoucane

Michelle LaBoucane works passionately to inspire people to live lives of significance and optimum health and wellness. A Métis woman of French and Cree ancestry, she strongly desires to help improve the health of aboriginal people. She also loves to share the Medicine Wheel emotional, mental, physical and spiritual teachings for a holistic approach to health and wellbeing. Overcoming her own challenging life experiences and re-connecting to her aboriginal roots, spirituality and culture catalyzed her positive and healthy lifestyle changes, which she teaches. The simple, balanced approach of the Medicine Wheel promotes a holistic perspective on the interconnectedness of all life and how it relates to healing and overall health and wellbeing. She holds a Diploma in Applied Psychology & Counseling and various health and wellness certifications. She combines her education, culture, creativity and experience by delivering workshops that inspire lasting positive health and healing.
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Tammy Lambert

Tammy Lambert has completed her Bachelor of Arts Degree with a Major in Psychology at the University of Manitoba. She is working as a Mental Health Proctor for Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. She co-facilitates two groups at Manitoba Schizophrenia Society: H.O.P.E.S. group for young people experiencing psychosis and “Focusing on You” to help provide people with healthy living skills and positive self-image. She is 33 years old, presently diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, and coping with delusional symptoms and mood instability. She was first diagnosed with a mental illness at the age of 15. Despite her difficulties, she feels that she is on the road to recovery. She is turning her life around to help others who are in similar situations, and is hoping to shed light on what can be a dark, painful experience, by coping through illness through body, mind and soul.
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Catherine Latimer

Catherine Latimer has been the Executive Director of the John Howard Society of Canada since 2011. Previously, she was a policy lawyer for the federal government providing analysis and policy advice for the Departments of the Solicitor General, the Privy Council Office, and Justice and had a lead responsibility in the development of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Her law degree is from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario and her Masters in Criminology is from Cambridge University. She is a Broadbent Fellow.
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Cindy Laverty

Cindy Laverty founded The Care Company, based in Southern California. A caregiver support agency, it reflects her years of caring for her dying former father-in-law while his own children were unable to provide care and while she was also raising her own child. To deliver compassionate home care, her company employs “life managers”, who work with family caregivers and their families. Her life managers provide services such as nutrition and exercise recommendations, medical coordination, caregiver screening, household management, financial assistance and much more. Her aim is a caregiving process that’s less stressful for everyone involved. She’s become a formidable advocate for caregivers nationwide by establishing herself as “the compassionate caregiver’s best friend” with the first and only commercial radio program, The Cindy Laverty Show on KZSB AM 1290 in Santa Barbara, devoted to caring for the family caregiver. She’s the author of ‘Caregiving - Eldercare Made Clear & Simple’.
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Raymond Lavoie

CC Duncan and Raymond Lavoie founded The Powell River Mobility Opportunities Society, http://www.prmos.org, in 2010. They were inspired by beautiful landscapes and opportunities for outdoor activities in British Columbia, Canada, to create an inclusive opportunity for everyone. Through the British Columbia Mobility Opportunities Society they were able to loan a Trail Rider to raise funds to purchase one for Powell River. They then began networking with other organizations for support and ideas, which resulted in donations from Powell River and other communities. By September 2011, they had purchased three TrailRiders. In May 2012 they launched Powell River Mobility Opportunities Society programming. Through social media and community events like Walk-Abouts, they continue to raise awareness and funds to improve programming, equipment, and accessibility. They truly believe in their slogan “Strengthening friendships and building new ones...” and hope to pass its philosophy on to others.
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Barbara Lebo

Barbara Lebo, MBA, BComm, CAAP, NIB, is CEO, (Chief Encouragement Officer) of Lebo Media Services which she has owned and operated for 25 years. This is a strategic marketing and advertising sales consulting agency, specializing in reaching hard-to-reach professionals such as doctors, lawyers, dentists, accountants and veterinarians in Canada and the US. Married for 24 years, at age 52, she has a daughter of 13 years, a son of12, and a son of 7, Braeden, who lives with autism. A dynamic public speaker and presenter, she leads life-transforming workshops. Her latest workshop, “I’m ready to be happier now, one mom’s journey with autism”, deals with the entire journey of autism, from before diagnosis to school. Like her other workshops, it explains how our attitudes affect our behaviors, contribute to our fears, move us forward or hold us back, influence what we can and cannot control, impact our families and our lives, and can free us from feelings of resentment and regret.
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Jennifer Lee

Jennifer Lee is Project Manager, Work With Us, www.workwithus.ca, Mood Disorders Society of Canada. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance. She has a BA (Hons) from the University of British Columbia. From 2010 to 2013 she held positions in the Ontario government, where she led multi-level stakeholder engagement strategies, reported to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada on the status of labour safety practices and assisted with launching province-wide social media strategies. In 2008, she led a healthcare panel examining healthcare and housing supports for homeless populations at the Centre for Research on Inner City Health. From 2006-2012 she was a features writer for Thomson Reuters Accelus, developing a network of commentators and organizing speakers for global forums. In 2003 and 2004 she founded national publications for two health education organizations at the University of British Columbia. View Guest page

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Joan Lesmond

Dr Joan Lesmond is the Executive Director, Community Engagement, at Saint Elizabeth Health Care, a non-profit charitable organization delivering health care in the home and community since 1908. She’s also Executive Director, Saint Elizabeth Health Care Foundation.
She teaches at Ryerson Polytechnic University in the BSc program for nursing students in community health. She’s a Board member of the Ontario Community Support Association, the Ontario Hospice Association, Women’s College Hospital, the Association of Ontario Health Centres, and HealthForceOntario. She was previously Chief Nursing Executive and Director of Professional Practice at Casey House Hospice in Toronto. She is Past President of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario and Past President of its International Nurses Interest Group, Past President of Regent Park Community Health Centre, and a Past Board member of the Canadian Nurses Protective Society.
Her qualifications are RN, BScN, MSN, and Ed.D
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Dr. Ben Levin

Dr. Ben Levin retired in 2014 as a Professor in Education Leadership and Policy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. He is a native of Manitoba, and has worked with private research organizations, school districts, provincial governments, and national and international agencies, as well as building a strong academic career. He served as Deputy Minister (chief civil servant) for Education for the Province of Ontario from 2004 to 2007 and 2008-09 and held a similar position in Manitoba from 1999 through 2002. He has authored or co-authored eight books and more than 300 other articles on education, conducted many research studies, and has spoken and consulted on education issues around the world. His current interests are in large-scale change, ways to ameliorate the impact of poverty and inequity, and finding better ways to connect research to policy and practice in education.
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Dr. Lance Levy

Dr. Lance Levy is a Pediatrician and Bariatric Nutrition specialist who, since 1985, has run a multi-disciplinary practice in Toronto treating severely overweight children and adults. His long-term interest in clinical research focuses on finding the treatable causes of weight gain and of weight loss failure in children and adults. His research has already established that untreated mood disorders, chronic pain syndromes, sleep disorders and disorders of impulse control (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - ADHD, Binge Eating Disorder and Night-time Eating Syndrome) are primary causes of weight gain, and of an inability to keep weight off after dieting. He’s published peer-reviewed research proving that treating these clinical problems results in sustainable weight loss. He works closely with bariatric surgeons in Toronto assisting patients to obtain the best results both before and after weight loss surgery. drlancelevy@rogers.com View Guest page

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Craig Lewis

Craig Lewis, betterdaysrecovery@gmail.com, is a Certified Peer Specialist living in Massachusetts. He has struggled immensely throughout his life. He has however successfully transformed it into a life of wellness. He tours internationally, speaking about his lived experience and offering workshops, and in sharing his knowledge with others, in hopes of having an empowering impact on his community. Having the privilege and honor of being able to help others live more satisfying lives, provides him with a degree of meaning and purpose that he never believed possible. He has authored and published the coping skills guide, ‘Better Days – A Mental Health Recovery Workbook’. He based the Better Days workbook on his personal life and recovery. The Better Days workbook will be soon be available in French, German and Spanish.
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Craig Lewis

Craig Lewis is a Certified Peer Specialist living in Massachusetts. He has struggled immensely throughout his life. He has however successfully transformed this into a life of wellness. He tours internationally, speaking about his lived experience and offering workshops, sharing his knowledge with others, in hopes of having an empowering impact on his community. Having the privilege and honor of being able to help others live more satisfying lives, provides him with a degree of meaning and purpose that he never believed possible. He has authored and published the coping skills guide, ‘Better Days – A Mental Health Recovery Workbook’. He based the Better Days workbook on his personal life and recovery. The Better Days workbook will be soon be available in French, German and Spanish.
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Karen Li

Karen Li has been St. Peter's Parish Nurse since January 1, 2011, http://www.stpeterscobourg.org/. She became a Registered Nurse in 1974 after graduating from Lima Technical College, Lima, Ohio with her Associate Degree in Nursing. She moved to Toronto when she married the Rev. Michael Li in 1978. She has worked in several hospitals in both the USA and Canada, in Intensive Care, Emergency and Medical-Surgery. In 2007, she and Michael moved to Cobourg after serving four parishes in southern Ontario and Newfoundland. In November 2013, she completed her three-year course in Parish Nursing through the InterChurch Health Ministries Canada. She is enjoying her work as the Parish Nurse. Her duties include Friday clinics, Thursday morning services, Sunday worship, many meetings, weekly Bulletin articles, five Parish Magazine articles, paperwork, networking, phone calls, e-mails, hospital and home visits. She and Michael have two married daughters and three grandchildren.
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Dr. Ethelle Lord

Dr. Éthelle G. Lord is the Founding President of the International Caregivers Association, www.icareassoc.com. She holds a Master’s of Education in Counseling from the University of Maine at Orono and a Doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix. She was president of the Maine Gerontological Society for two terms in the 90’s. She’s been a professor of Organizational Behavior at several universities. She authored ‘Alzheimer’s and Dementia Coaching: Taking a Systems Approach to Creating an Alzheimer’s/Dementia-Friendly Healthcare Workforce’ and ‘Natural Rhythm of Dementia: A metaphysical Healing Experience’ documenting the true gift of dementia to humanity. She’s married to Major Larry S. Potter, USAF Retired, diagnosed with Vascular Dementia following his triple bypass surgery. She discusses her 15 years of experience as his “pack leader”. She describes her recently revealed revolutionary family housing concept for dementia care.
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Bill Lougheed

Bill Lougheed graduated in 1966 with honours from the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Denver. He was then recruited for the management trainee development program of Sheraton Corporation in Chicago. In 1969 he returned to Canada as Supervisor of Staff Training with Canadian Pacific Hotels, where he subsequently became Director of Personnel. He joined Ryerson University in 1974 and taught Human Resources Management at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. He Chaired the School from 1981 to 1986. On retiring from the School in 2006, he received several awards in recognition of his service to the industry. He was appointed by the Government of Ontario in 2004 as a panel member to review the qualifications of selected Ontario colleges to be granted applied arts degree status in hospitality. On his retirement in 2006, the Ted Rogers School of Business, Ryerson University created the William F. Lougheed Hospitality & Tourism Management Award. View Guest page

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John Louie

John Louie is Men’s support counselor at the Tla’amin community health center, http://www.tlaaminhealth.com/. He counsels aboriginal men on drug addictions, domestic abuse, alcoholism, and depression. He’s also a member of the Aboriginal Suicide Critical Incident response team. He’d been a logger for 27 years until injuries in a work accident ended the only career he’d ever known. An alcoholic, he checked himself into a drug abuse treatment center to point his life in a new direction. This direction empowered him to proudly acknowledge his peoples’ spiritual teachings, which he’d been taught to disregard by the Indian residential school to which he was sent at age six. At the treatment center, he learned truths that restored his pride as a man and as a native. Truths he uses when counseling others. “I learned what can be learned can also be unlearned’, he says, adding that “for a person to change their current life they need to know where they have been and where they come from.” View Guest page

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Dr. Penny MacCourt

Dr. Penny MacCourt, pennymaccourt@shaw.ca, has worked for many years with older adults and their families in the community, long-term care and acute-care settings. She holds a Bachelor and Masters of Social Work from University of Manitoba and a PhD (Interdisciplinary Studies) from University of Victoria. Her doctoral and post-doctoral studies focused on aging, mental health and service delivery. Her current research interests are caregiving, mental health promotion, and social inclusion. She authored the “National Guidelines for of a Comprehensive Service System to Support Family Caregivers of Adults with Mental Health Problems and Illnesses” and “Taking the Guidelines off the Shelf: Mobilization Toolkit” for the Family Caregiver Advisory Committee of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. An important part of this project was consulting across Canada with adults living with mental health issues, families and service providers.
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Amy MacFarlane

Amy MacFarlane is Founder and CEO of Recreational Respite Inc., http://recrespite.com/, which provides for creative living and innovative care. It assists individuals with special needs arising from cognitive impairment, physical challenges or developmental disabilities by recognizing, engaging and strengthening their residual abilities and interests and integrating them successfully into their communities, and by providing them with the services of multi-skilled teams. She took on the dedication and commitment to creating Recreational Respite after she recognized the need in the community for supportive and inclusive environments for people with mental and physical challenges and developmental diversities. Her passion in the field of healthcare is united with a hands-on, educated and expert background in personal support work, health care/business development, therapeutic recreation, health sciences and gerontology. She’s actively involved with Family Caregivers Unite.
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Amy MacFarlane

Amy MacFarlane is Founder and CEO of Recreational Respite Inc, www.recrespite.com, a company which provides for Creative living and innovative care. She took on the dedication and commitment to creating Recreational Respite after she recognized the need in the community for supportive and inclusive environments for people with cognitive impairments, physical challenges and developmental diversities. Her passion in the field of health care is united with a hands-on, educated and expert background in personal support work, health care/business development, therapeutic recreation, health sciences and gerontology. View Guest page

Krista MacKinnon

Krista MacKinnon is a mental health specialist in the capacities of family counselling, peer support, mental health recovery education, curriculum development, group facilitation and community organizing; both online and also face-to-face. She consults with mental health organizations internationally delivering and developing extensive mental health recovery training. She developed and runs an online support and education community called FamiliesHealingTogether.Com. Families Healing Together is designed for families experiencing mental health struggles and is designed to focus on empowerment, recovery, self-care, boundaries setting, and realizing strengths. She also serves on the board of directors of the International Mental Health Society Online. On a personal note, Krista is a long time devoted yogi, a Canadian expat living in Costa Rica, and the proud mama of three incredible boys. View Guest page

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Chris MacLeod

Chris MacLeod is a Partner in the law firm Cambridge LLP, www.cambridgellp.com. His practice focuses on complex business litigation including cross-border dispute resolution, multi-jurisdictional litigation and private international law. He is a frequent speaker and writer on topics relevant to cross-border litigation, conflict of laws and private international law. He has appeared before all levels of Court in the Province of Ontario, including the Ontario Court of Appeal. He has also appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada as co-counsel for an intervenor in Canada (Prime Minister) v. Khadr, 2010 SCC 3, [2010] 1 S.C.R. 44. He also has Cystic Fibrosis and chairs the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis treatment Society. As the chair of this not-for-profit organization, he leads all advocacy work to ensure that no patient with cystic fibrosis is without life-saving treatments that are available on the market. View Guest page

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Rossana Magnotta

Rossana Magnotta is president and CEO of Magnotta Winery, the third largest winery in Ontario with almost 4,000 awards for product excellence. Her early career as a Medical Laboratory Technologist helped prepare her for an unexpected journey: tackling the obstacles that are preventing Lyme disease sufferers from being heard by telling Canadians the real story about this devastating disease. Through her winery, she launched awareness campaigns and major fund-raising initiatives. She is a member of the board of the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation. She established ‘The G. Magnotta Foundation for Vector-Borne Diseases’, http://www.gmagnottafoundation.com/, a non-profit organization with the primary mission of helping to establish Canada’s first research facility for Lyme disease that will lead to better testing and treatment for Canadians. Throughout her remarkable career, she has received many honors and awards of distinction.
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Connie Magro

Connie Magro is Vice-President of the European Federation of Associations of Families of the Mentally Ill, www.eufami.org. A general and psychiatric nurse, she’s a founding member of the Mental Health Association of Malta. She’s the driving force for its anti-stigma campaign in Malta’s schools. At many conferences she’s given presentations about family caregivers of persons suffering from mental illness. She’s co-authored a book in Maltese about the personal experience of family caregivers of mentally ill persons, now available as an English language e-book, and to be followed by a self-help book for family caregivers. She was awarded the honour of Ġieħ ir-Repubblika by the President of Malta for her support of families of the mentally ill. With the St Jeanne Antide Foundation, she heads community services for vulnerable and poor families, including family consultations with family caregivers of mentally ill persons, support groups and outreach for community social workers.
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Bev Mahone

Bev Mahone has nearly 30 years’ experience as a radio and television news journalist, including ABC NEWS and NBC NEWS. She’s a radio talk show host, author, and motivational Speaker. She describes herself as a Baby Boomer with A LOT to say. After her years of being in a controlled radio and television news environment, she now feels free to tell it like it really is. With her life as an African-American baby boomer female entrepreneur she’s plenty of stories to share. With all the knowledge and experience she’s gained from her broadcasting career she’s reinventing herself to give back by helping people learn what it takes to get noticed by the media and to prepare for a successful interview. She tells us that she’s also a wife, mother and grandmother dealing with issues like aging, menopause, transition, stress, divorce, second chances, new opportunities, transformation, racism, sexism, mortality … and grandparent family caregiving.
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Alban Maino

Based in Portland Maine, Alban Maino has 25 years of experience as a film director and producer. He refocused his expertise on dementia when he learned that his grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He created Memory Lane Therapeutics, http://memory-lane.tv/, in 2013 with a committee of geriatric physicians and health industry experts. Memory-Lane.Tv is a collection of therapeutic, interactive and customized films for dementia sufferers and their caregivers. This personalized and customised on-demand video platform combines 4 multi-sensory techniques: guided imagery, music and auditory integration, chronobiology and olfactory stimulation. Memory Lane offers respite and increase the quality of life of those who live with dementia.
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Alan Majer

Alan Majer is the founder of GoodRobot.com and AAH.ca. He has always been interested in how science, technology and society intersect to shape our future. Over the last 12 years, he’s pursued this interest directly in his career as a research analyst and writer. Now, he is exploring this frontier hands-on: experimenting with sensors, home automation, robotics, and collective intelligence. His current venture (aah.ca) uses technology to help elderly people live independently in their homes by sharing information with family and caregivers. Monitoring the activity within the home (when the fridge was last opened for example) allows families to know how their loved one is doing, or even alert them of unusual patterns.
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Tibor Maknyik

Tibor Maknyik was born in Hungary in 1945, educated in England from age 12 and emigrated to Canada at age 23. He’s a tool and die maker and plastic injection-mold maker with a mechanical technologist degree. After working at several companies he accepted a plant manager’s job in a manufacturing plant with more than 200 employees. Five supervisors reported to him. He worked there for 20 years. In 2006, when the plant was sold and all manufacturing was shipped to Mexico, he took early retirement to care for his wife Elizabeth whom he married in 1973. Born in England, she migrated to Canada. Their two wonderful and successful sons are both married with children. In 1997 at age 53 Elizabeth began to display signs of forgetfulness that started to affect her job. Misdiagnosed by three doctors, she was finally diagnosed in 2003 with Alzheimer's disease. He cared for her at home until 2008, when he was no longer able to care for her. She was then admitted to a long-term care facility.
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Deb Mangolt

Deb Mangolt is co-author of ‘Drink Wine and Giggle: 101 ways girlfriends can connect, have fun and be inspired’, www.drinkwineandgiggle.com. The book combines friendship and personal growth in easy-to-follow activities proven to turn girlfriend get-togethers into life-shifting experiences. Her two co-authors, Lynne Everatt and Julie Smethurst, are friends of 20 years and are in high demand for events for women’s organizations across the US and Canada. Their book is used by Professional Coaches as a coaching tool. Deb is a Certified Professional Coach and Licensed Zumba® instructor, who enjoys helping others reach their goals in health and happiness while demonstrating the power of true compassion. Her former 25-year career in corporate finance has taken her across North America from Ohio to Tennessee to Toronto, Canada and finally to Charleston, South Carolina. She is a devoted hospice volunteer, member of the Charleston Center for Women and an avid golfer and runner. View Guest page

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Tim Manson

Tim Manson is owner of Innovative Horizons, www.innovativehorizons.com. His services include organizational development and motivational speaking. His own story of overcoming Multiple Sclerosis inspires his listeners to overcome the obstacles life places in their paths. His mission is inspiring others with MS, so that they can create the kind of life they truly want. His motto is “Changing Minds, One Heart at a Time.” He’s an experienced leader, educator, consultant and avid horseman, with over 34 years of experience of adult training and over 45 years of experience working with horses. He’s a pioneer in the field of Equine Assisted Professional and Personal Development. In these programs he partners with horses that help to facilitate desired changes in the leadership, team building and communication experiences of the human participants. By examining equine behavior and how the horses react to us, he says, we can better understand what may be more effective in our human situations.
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Khaled Mansour

Khaled Mansour is founder, President and CEO of Spyders Inc., www.spyders.ca, a leading Communications, Security, and Development Services firm. He has 25 years of extensive experience with technology and management in telecommunication networks, operations, IT security, outsourcing, process re-engineering and acquisitions. Previously he was President and CEO of Cyberklix Inc, a security and network consulting company he co-founded and grew to a multi-million dollar operation. Previously he was the Vice President of Technology Services at the CGI Group, the largest independent Canadian information technology consulting firm and, prior to that, Director, Telecommunication Networks and Data Centre Operations for CIBC, a large Canadian bank. He began his career at Air Canada in the IT Branch. He received a BASc, Electrical Engineering from the University of Ottawa and a BSc, General Sciences, from the University of Toronto. He’s held membership of the Ordre des Ingenieurs du Quebec.
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Susan Manwaring

Susan Manwaring is the National Chair of Miller Thomson’s Charities and Not-for-Profit Group, www.millerthomson.com/charities-nfp. She provides specialized tax and general counsel advice to charities and not-for-profit organizations in Canada and Internationally. She advises on establishing charities and non-profit organizations and works with them to address their operational and governance concerns. She is knowledgeable in the law relating to charitable expenditures and day-to-day questions of charities, including charities working outside of Canada. She also assists clients faced with tax audits and/or other regulatory issues. She is regularly called upon to advise charities and non-profit organizations on compliance and taxation matters under the Income Tax Act (Canada), as well as other relevant provincial tax regulations. She assists clients with charitable giving issues and with regulations relating to receipting of charitable foundations and expenditures of charitable funds.
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Jacqueline Marcell

Jacqueline Marcell was so influenced by caring for her parents, both with Alzheimer's disease which went undiagnosed for over a year, that she wrote 'Elder Rage', the best-selling Book-of-the-Month Club selection with 360 5-Star Amazon reviews and a candidate for a film. Its 50-plus endorsements include Hugh Downs, Regis Philbin, Johns Hopkins Memory Clinic, and the National Adult Day Services Association’s Media Award. She’s also received the National Association of Women Business Owners 'Advocate of the Year' at their Remarkable Women Awards. She’s given numerous prestigious presentations, including the California Governor’s Conference, National Security Agency, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and Florida House of Representatives. She’s been interviewed by the TODAY SHOW and CNN, and featured in an AARP BULLETIN cover story. She hosts the 'Coping with Caregiving' radio show at www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving. Her website is www.ElderRage.com. View Guest page

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Jacqueline Marcell

Jacqueline Marcell was a television executive. She barely survived as family caregiver for her challenging father and sweet mother, both with Alzheimer's undiagnosed for over a year. The experience led her to write 'Elder Rage', www.ElderRage.com, a Book-of-the-Month Club selection receiving over 450 5-Star Amazon reviews. It’s required reading at numerous universities, and considered for a film. She’s received 'Advocate of the Year' from the National Association of Women Business Owners at their Remarkable Women Awards. She’s an international speaker who’s presented at hundreds of events including the California Governor’s Conference, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, National Security Agency, and Florida House of Representatives. She stresses the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s and says there can still be a good life for everyone in the family, if dementia is properly managed medically, behaviorally, socially, legally, financially and emotionally.
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Asko Marjanovic

Asko Marjanovic is a Partner in Avant Garde Real Estate, based in the Yorkville area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He’s a Professional Engineer, a management scientist, and a former computer executive who spent his career helping people make their businesses more productive. Now, as a member of the Toronto Real Estate Board, the Ontario Real Estate Association and the Canadian Real Estate Association he helps put together deals for people buying and selling their businesses and/or their residential properties. He also is an active member of his community and participates at the Executive level on the boards of various not-for-profit organizations.
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Frank Markel

Dr. Frank Markel is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Trillium Gift of Life Network, a position he assumed in January 2005. The Network is Ontario's organ and tissue procurement agency. Under his leadership it has experienced a 33 precent increase in deceased organ donation. He often says that he has never known a cause as compelling as that of organ and tissue donation. Prior to joining the Network he held various senior positions in health administration, including Executive Vice President of the Rehabilitation Institute of Toronto, President and CEO of Hillcrest Hospital, and Vice President, Planning and Development at St. Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto. He holds a Masters and a PhD in mathematics from the University of Toronto.
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Diane Marshall

Diane Marshall has served in the role of Executive Director of the Residences of 1425 Bayview, http://www.residencesofbayview.com/, since 2008. Her career choices have always been informed by organizations and work for which she has a passion. This has made for an eclectic background dedicated to facilitating innovative learning, transformational experiences and collaborative partnerships. Her extensive experience spans public and private sector in human resources and program development in the aboriginal community. She is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and a Life Coach. Mental health and addictions is particularly close to her heart. In the ‘70s in Montreal, her own family was personally involved in creating ‘Portage’, a community which has become an international model for addiction treatment.
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Lori Schindel Martin

Dr. Lori Schindel Martin, RN, PhD, is Associate Professor, Associate Director, Scholarly, Research & Creative Activities, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She’s Vice-Chair, Advanced Gerontological Education and, Chair, Gentle Persuasive Approaches Advisory Committee, President of the Gerontological Nursing Association Ontario, and an advanced practice nurse. She has extensive clinical background in the health care of older people and their families who are living with dementia. Her research focuses on the development of humanistic and person-centered health care practices and policies aimed at helping point-of-care staff support older persons with dementia during episodes of responsive behavior. The research includes knowledge transfer activities to enhance best practices related to responsive behavior of a physical nature, reluctance for bathing, and sexual expression. http://www.ageinc.ca/gpa.php
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Cynthia Martineau

Cynthia Martineau is a registered nurse with 25 years of health care experience. This includes 21 years in the Canadian Forces, where her responsibilities included National Practice Leader for Aeromedical Evacuation and medical operations officer for the Air Force on behalf of the Canadian Forces Medical Group. Her responsibilities also included overall management of a multi-site military healthcare centre and overseeing the operational aeromedical evacuation support for the current NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. She’s currently the Director of Local Health System Development for Ontario’s South East Local Health Integration Network, where she oversees health care planning and integration for all health care providers funded by the Network. She holds the Master’s in Health Care Management and two certificates in Health Care Administration in Acute Care and Community Health. She’s a Certified Health Executive. She has two daughters, Rachel, with Rett Syndrome, and Chloe.
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Britta Martini-Miles

Britta Martini-Miles has been Executive Director of the Lighthouse Program for Grieving Children, http://www.grievingchildrenlighthouse.org/, in Oakville since November 2011. A German national, she completed her undergraduate degree in her home country, followed by a MA in International Relations at Penn State in 1989. After many years of international assignments in Europe, the US, and South Africa she, her husband, and their three grown children settled in Oakville, Ontario, in 2005. She immersed herself in the local community as a volunteer and as executive director for local not-for-profits. She has a track record in fundraising, marketing, not-for-profit management and organizational development. She’s delighted to be able to lead the Lighthouse to become a highly recognized and respected grief resource and support center for Halton and Peel.
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Sherri Matsumoto

Sherri Matsumoto lives with Schizophrenia. Diagnosed with mental illness as a teenager, her first diagnosis was not schizophrenia. Her last hospitalization was about five years ago. In 1994, she participated in a program for paraprofessional mental health workers. The program’s participants all lived with diagnosed mental illness. Her jobsite for the training was the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society. After graduation she became the Winnipeg Outreach Worker for the Society. She now helps the Society with facilitating and sharing her story in voice hearers’ workshops. She helps facilitate a peer support group that runs weekly at the Society. She helps co-facilitate ‘Name that Feeling’, a program for children with a family member living with mental illness. Currently, she has a full life which includes a strong, supportive family and friends who have helped her along her pathway to wellness. She believes everyone should have a voice with a choice and that recovery is possible.
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Ernest Matton

Ernest Matton (Little Brown Bear), ernest@look.ca, is a Métis helper and guide who inspires living in today’s hectic world, and bridging culture and professional disciplines to assist people in finding help. His blending mainstream information with Aboriginal teachings has created culture-sensitive programs that are appropriate for healing journeys. With his years of experience on and off reserve and with mainstream agencies, he makes wellness practices and spirituality simple. Drawing on his academic background, vast work and personal life experiences, he focuses on what works to bring balance and inspiration to everyday life. He’s a member in good standing with the Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation and Ontario Association of Consultants, Counsellors, Psychometrists and Psychotherapists, and a Certified Gladue Writer. He’s a seminar speaker and group facilitator in areas such as addictions, suicide, medicine wheel, and seven grandfather teachings anger release.
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Ernest W. Matton

Ernest W. Matton (Little Brown Bear), ernest@look.ca, is a Métis helper and guide who inspires living in today’s hectic world, and bridging culture and professional disciplines to assist people in finding help. Blending mainstream information with Aboriginal teachings has created culture-sensitive programs that are appropriate for healing journeys. With his years of experience on and off reserve and with mainstream agencies, he makes wellness practices and spirituality simple. Drawing on his academic background, vast work and personal life experiences, he focuses on what works to bring balance and inspiration to everyday life. He’s a member in good standing with the Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation and Ontario Association of Consultants, Counsellors, Psychometrists and Psychotherapists, and a Certified Gladue Writer. He’s a seminar speaker and group facilitator in areas such as addictions, suicide, medicine wheel, and seven grandfather teachings anger release.
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Jack McCarthy

Jack McCarthy has been the Executive Director of the Somerset West Community Health Centre since 1989. The Centre provides comprehensive primary health care services targeted to the needs of residents in west central down town Ottawa. From 2004 to 2011, he was Chairperson of the Canadian Alliance of Community Health Centre Associations, a pan-Canadian advocacy body for CHCs. He is a past chairperson of the Ottawa Hospital Community Advisory Committee and the Central Ottawa Community of Care Advisory Forum for the Champlain Local Health Integration Network. He is involved in several research projects pertaining to primary health care and the link between primary health care and public health. In recognition of his many years of community service, he was honored with a community builder of the year award in 2009, by the United Way of Ottawa. He obtained a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1977. View Guest page

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Dr. Margaret McCartney

Dr. Margaret McCartney is a family doctor in Glasgow, Scotland who writes for the British Medical Journal and for general media. She broadcasts for the BBC's Radio 4 ‘Inside Health’ programme. Her main interests are evidence-based medicine, screening, risk, ethics and uncertainty. She’s the author of “The Patient Paradox - why sexed up medicine is bad for your health”. She blogs at www.margaretmccartney.com and tweets @mgtmccartney
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Shannon McMillan

Shannon McMillan is Coordinator of the Restoring Family Links Program of the Canadian Red Cross, http://ow.ly/xdFkb. She’s worked for the Canadian Red Cross for 25 years. From 1987 until 1997 she coordinated Home Support Services for Seniors for the District of Algoma at the local branch in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. In 1997 she moved to Ottawa and the National office where she joined the Restoring Family Links Program. As the Coordinator, she works with the Manager, Christine Bloch, and a team of 4 volunteers. Her work included attending an Annual Meeting of the European RFL Network in Bad Arolson, Germany. The network includes Canada, US, Australia and New Zealand as well as the Tracing Department Heads of all the European National Societies. View Guest page

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Mary Jane McNally

Mary Jane McNally is the Senior Director of Nursing at Toronto Western Hospital and University Health Network, where she provides leadership for advancing academic nursing practice, education, and research. She’s held progressive operational and professional practice leadership positions within acute care and primary care. She’s leading innovative programs that interface with long term care and convalescent care. She received her BScN and MN degrees from the Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, where she currently serves as a Clinical Appointee. She’s received the Ontario Hospital Association Ted Freedman Award for Education Innovation and a 3M – Health Care Quality Team Award. She’s known as a national and international speaker on workplace violence in the health sector and innovation in care delivery models. Her other areas of interest include inter-professional collaboration, hospital/community partnership and practice informatics.
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Donna Messer

Donna Messer is the “Queen of Networking”,http://ow.ly/jppRm. She’s an author, speaker and coach, and an inspiring and passionate motivato who’s addressed thousands of people on three continents. A former broadcast journalist, she’s the author of more than 4,000 articles published around the world. Her book ‘Effective Networking Strategies’ is a Canadian best seller. Her new book, ‘Cycles of Life, Keeping You on Track’ weaves wisdom, philosophy and innovation together to illustrate how build the relationships needed for success. She hosts radio and television programs interviewing Canadians with a story to tell. She’s social-media savvy, and knows the importance of international visibility. She’s on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. She serves on the Executive Board for Women in Food Industry Management, is an active Rotarian and is on the board for The United Way of Oakville.
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Eleanor Millard

Eleanor Millard’s professional career began in Dawson City with four years as area social worker in the Northern Yukon. She was a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Ogilvie (Dawson City), 1974-1978, and Minister of Education, Recreation, Housing and Employment. She’s worked extensively in adult education, as a consultant for research and program implementation in education and social services, and delivered presentations in all three Northern Territories. She’s served on boards for adult literacy, social advocacy, third-world development, and the Yukon Territorial Health and Social Services Council, among others. She founded and is active in the Grandparents' Rights Association of the Yukon and the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers organization. She authors novels reflective of her experience with First Nations. Her latest, ‘Summer Snow’, http://www.eleanormillard.com/, is based on her own experience of adopting a child with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. View Guest page

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Audrey Miller

Audrey Miller, MSW, RSW, CCRC, CCLCP, is the founder and Managing Director of Elder Caring Inc. Elder Caring is a Geriatric Care Management Company that provides consulting services to individuals, families and corporations across Canada. She is a Registered Social Worker, a Canadian Certified Rehabilitation Counsellor and a Canadian Certified Life Care Planner. She’s published several articles, available at www.eldercaring.ca, and is frequently asked to speak on caregiving, health and aging issues at home and in the workplace. View Guest page

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Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller has mild cerebral palsy. It took him longer to learn to cook. He currently works as a sales associate at Wal-Mart. Before that, he was a cashier. He has also worked as a special education teacher, teacher assistant, and substitute teacher. He is a graduate of Culpeper County High School and earned an Associate of Arts and Sciences degree in education from Germanna Community College. He has a B.S. degree in special education and a Master of Arts degree in Human Relations. During college, he volunteered his time as a peer academic advisor, a student grader, and gave presentations of transition planning in special education and test-taking strategies. He types about 40 words a minute with his left hand only. He wrote ‘Overcoming Obstacles in Cooking’, http://ow.ly/x1hJ7, to encourage beginning cooks and those with disabilities not to give up. Like his mom did, he likes to bake desserts. View Guest page

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John Mills

John Mills is the Founder and CEO of eCare Diary.com. As a caregiver for his father who suffered from Parkinson’s disease and a professional who spent over 20 years working in healthcare, he found care coordination to be difficult. He discovered eldercare to be highly fragmented and lacked a centralized source of information. His experience is focused primarily on healthcare policy, technology and insurance product development. He brings a unique perspective to the issues of long-term care and has used his expertise to develop eCareDiary’s website. He spent close to a decade working on healthcare policy, serving as Legislative Director to a member of a key healthcare committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. In this capacity, he served on President Clinton’s Task Force on Health Care Reform. He later worked on the Bi-Partisan Commission on Medicare Reform.
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Angelo Minardi

Angelo Minardi, born in Sicily, Italy, immigrated to Canada at age 3. He and his wife Catia have two children, Sofia and Luca. In 1997 he graduated with a BA in Sociology from The University of Toronto. He began work at the Bank of Montreal. Desiring more meaning in his life he pursued studies in theology at St. Augustine's Seminary in Scarborough, Ontario, where he completed his Master’s degree. He is Chaplain at the Cardinal Ambrozic Catholic Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario. He continued his studies in Spiritual Direction at Regis College at the University of Toronto. He also works as an instructor with the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association teaching theology, and with the Bachelor of Education Continuing Studies program at the University of Ontario’s Institute of Technology. He meets with young people to help them see the presence of God in their daily lives, and he provides spiritual direction for seniors at the Oak Ridges Retirement Residence in Richmond Hill. View Guest page

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Bart Mindszenthy

Bart Mindszenthy is host of www.mycarejourney.com, a community for family members caring for aging parents and other loved ones. He’s co-author of the national best-seller ‘Parenting Your Parents: Support Strategies for Meeting the Challenge of Aging in the Family’, 2002, Dundurn Press, Toronto. In writing it, he drew on personal experience with his elderly parents and listening to hundreds of people deep into eldercare. Since the publication of Parenting Your Parents, he’s addressed numerous audiences and appeared on dozens of radio and television interview and talk shows and national television specials. His recent books are ‘The Family Eldercare Workbook & Planner’ and ‘Aging Parents: 200+ Practical Support Tips from My Care Journey’. He holds a Bachelor of Philosophy degree with a concurrent major in journalism. He’s partner in The Mindszenthy & Roberts Corp., a Toronto firm that specializes in issues and crisis communications management and strategic communications planning. View Guest page

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Zig Misiak

Zig Misiak, www.realpeopleshistory.com, still sees himself as a student of Native/First Nations history and culture. In addition to providing curriculum and related support to schools in Ontario and other parts of Canada, his mission is to familiarize, coach, present, and mentor all those interested in Native Nations. He’s very clear stating that he speaks about but not for the Native Nations and always takes in to account both oral and written information, when available, respecting both sources. His work includes President of Real People's History, First/Native Nations History/Culture, Chairman, War of 1812, Author, Six Nations Iroquois Program Teacher's Resource Guide, Author, Western Hooves of Thunder (War of 1812), Author, Tonto: The Man in Front of the Mask (Jay Silverheels biography), recipient of the 2011, Shining Star Award, history & heritage, Brantford/Brant County/Six Nations/Mississauga, PBS/WNED TV, Bi-National Education Advisory Group, War of 1812 and much more.
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Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi is the President of RespectAbilityUSA.org, a non-profit organization working to reshape the attitudes of society so that people with disabilities can more fully participate in and contribute to society. RespectAbility works to empower people with disabilities to achieve as much as their abilities and efforts permit. At a time when 70% of working age Americans with disabilities are outside the workforce, RespectAbility is working to help people with disabilities get jobs, start and sustain their own businesses, lift themselves into the middle class, and participate in their communities. She has met with 16 Governors and 5 future Presidential Candidates on these issues. She has published hundreds of articles on public policy issues. She herself is dyslexic and, as a parent, knows what it means to raise a child with multiple disabilities.
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Pat Montgomery

Pat Montgomery is author, radio talk show host, and blogger. She’s a Registered Nurse, a business owner, a speaker and a trainer. She’s a mother of 3, a stepmother of 2, and a grandmother of 12. And she’s also a certified paranormal investigator. One of her books grew from something she was writing for her children. This was a list of things she learned as she raised them. When the list got to about 25 pages, she realized it was going to be a book of parenting advice distilled from her own experiences. She says that her talk show gives her the opportunity to pass on parenting advice and timely information from people who she says are much smarter than her. She also says that the idea of being a grandma scared her—the question “am I old enough to be a grandma?” bothered her. But she now sees the life of grandmother and grandparent family caregiver as a stage, like all the other stages in life. It is wonderful stage, she says.
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Lynn Moore

Lynn Moore, Work With Us, www.workwithus.ca, is the Director, Programs and Services at The Arthritis Society, Canada's only charity devoted solely to funding and promoting arthritis research, programs and patient care for the over 4.6 million Canadians of all ages living with arthritis. She is responsible for providing national leadership to the Society’s education, programs and services and serves as the Canadian National Ambassador to Fit for Work Europe. She is an Adjunct Professor in University of Toronto’s Health Policy, Management and Evaluation Program where she tutors students in the graduate level Canadian Health System and Health Policy courses. She has volunteered on various not-for-profit boards primarily in the areas of geriatrics, mental health and substance abuse. She has a Masters of Health Administration from the University of Ottawa and is a Certified Health Executive.
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Stone Morris

Stone Morris, www.grinddining.com, has over twenty four years of foodservice experience in restaurants, catering, country clubs, and five-star luxury hotels. The positions she has formerly held include hot and cold food banquet supervisor at the Marriott Marquis, co-owner of an award-winning vegetarian restaurant Two Chefs, garde manger chef for The Ritz-Carlton, and line chef at The Buckhead Diner. In 1981, she became a Certified Working Chef by the American Culinary Federation. She’s worked for the past 19 years as an accomplished food-stylist for print and film that includes commercial advertising as well as editorial for high profile clients such as Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Southern Living Magazine, Char-broil grills, Olive Garden, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Wal-Mart. She has also been a cook-book contributor and photo stylist for the Quadras Cookbook, Southern Entertaining, and Williams and Sonoma.
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Carolyn Murray

Carolyn Murray is a musician, composer, artist, community volunteer – and caregiver. A graduate of the New Brunswick Teachers’ College and the University of New Brunswick (B.A.), she retired from elementary school teaching several years ago after a career begun in her teens. She continues to serve her church and wider community in volunteer roles, in addition to being a faithful caregiver to her 95 year old parents and assisting her husband with his continuing recuperation following a serious accident. She is Organist and Music Director at All Saints Anglican Church in Saint John, NB. She is also volunteer leader of a residents’ choir at her parents’ retirement community, where her father is one of her most enthusiastic choristers! www.carolynmurraymusic.com
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Yo Mustafa

Yo Mustafa was born in Cyprus in 1960. He immigrated to Canada in 1971. He graduated from Sheridan College from the acting program. He’s been in a same sex marriage for 25 years. In 2004 his husband Paul and he adopted three boys whom they love very much. He’s dedicated his life for the past 10 years in bringing up these amazing young men.
He has a professional theatre company called Galahad Theatre Productions. This does one show a year at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor, a director and a teacher of theatre. He’s been teaching with WEST (West End Studio Theatre) since the early 1980s.
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Dr. Benjamin Neel

Dr. Benjamin Neel, Director of Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, www.theprincessmargaret.ca, is an internationally recognized cancer biologist specialized in the field of cell signaling. His research focuses on the role of protein-tyrosine phosphatase enzymes in the development of cancer and congenital disease. He also has interests in breast and ovarian cancer drug discovery. He’s Professor, University of Toronto, Department of Medical Biophysics. He holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in signal transduction and disease. He came to Toronto in 2007 from Harvard Medical School, where he was William B. Castel Professor of Medicine. In 2003, he received a MERIT award (renewed in 2008) from the National Institutes of Health. He’s the only MERIT award recipient in Canada. In 2009, he received a Premier’s Summit Award in Ontario for excellence in medical research. He’s a graduate of Cornell University, Rockefeller University and Cornell University Medical College.
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Nathan Neinhuis

Nathan Neinhuis is widely recognized as one of the foremost global authorities on Cannabis Cultivation for Medical Purposes. He will be contributing his extensive experience and knowledge of the cultivation of medically compliant cannabis within a clean room environment for pharmaceutical applications. At the age of 18, he graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has the distinction of holding the first granted federal license in the United States for the cultivation of cannabis, working directly with the United States Department of Health to design, build and execute its medical marijuana facilities in Washington, D.C. He has formed protocols and standard operating procedures used by the Department of Health, has consulted with the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and has worked with members of the US Federal Government and Congress to develop state-of-the-art and fully compliant hydroponic medical marijuana facilities.
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Wendy Newman

Carolyn Murray is a musician, composer, artist, community volunteer – and caregiver. A graduate of the New Brunswick Teachers’ College and the University of New Brunswick (B.A.), she retired from elementary school teaching several years ago after a career begun in her teens. She continues to serve her church and wider community in volunteer roles, in addition to being a faithful caregiver to her 95 year old parents and assisting her husband with his continuing recuperation following a serious accident. She is Organist and Music Director at All Saints Anglican Church in Saint John, NB. She is also volunteer leader of a residents’ choir at her parents’ retirement community, where her father is one of her most enthusiastic choristers! www.carolynmurraymusic.com
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Emily Nicholas

Emily Nicholas has helped Patients Canada, http://www.patientscanada.ca/, bring the patient voice to health care for over five years, drawing on her own experience as a patient and her lifelong interest in medicine and public health. She’s been a member of boards of directors, multiple committees, and participated in conferences and round-table discussions with organizations such as the Ministry of Health, Public Health Ontario, the Health Council of Canada and the Canadian Institute of Health Information. She serves as a representative speaker and assists with the facilitation of open meetings which explore different ways for patients and caregivers to share their stories. Alongside her work with Patients Canada, she has worked as a research assistant in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and is currently working with Dr. Mike Evans and also Pivot Design Group exploring creative ways to share quality information about health.
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Jeff Nisker MD PhD

Jeff Nisker MD PhD FRCSC FCAHS, is a Professor of Obstetrics-Gynaecology at the Schulich School Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, and Scientist, Children’s Health Research Institute, http://publish.uwo.ca/~jnisker/. He holds, and has held, CIHR and Genome Canada grants to explore ethical and social issues in reproductive medicine, genetics, and exposure of pregnant women to environmental toxins. He has held a CIHR/Health Canada grant exploring public engagement for citizen deliberation regarding pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. He has written or co-written over 150 scientific articles and book chapters, as well as seven plays. His plays have been performed throughout Canada, as well as in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa. View Guest page

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Jeff Noble

Jeff Noble is the Founder and CEO of Noble Initiatives 2014, an organization that provides hope and education to people caring for someone living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) through online applications, http://fasdforever.com/, and in-person training sessions, demonstrations and consultations. He is a helper, a leader and an innovator. His focus is FASD, but his expertise is building community through social media. Using an interactive yet personal approach he delivers relevant, useful and need-to-know information to help and support front line workers, educators and family caregivers of those living with FASD. He’s the author of an E-Book, ‘Making Sense of the Madness: An FASD Survival Guide’. This is sixty-five pages of everything he’s learned about FASD, in which he shares his stories and anecdotes that helped him stay sane while he was a foster parent to a young boy with FASD.
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Jeff Noble

Jeff Noble is an advocate, trainer and coach for caregivers who deal with the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Over the course of four years he’s been a foster parent, front line staff and an FASD coordinator for a private agency in the greater Toronto area. In 2009, he completed the FASD Certificate program from the Child Welfare Institute at the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto. In 2010, he founded www.fasdforever.com a website in which he shares his experience with FASD and related matters. In just one year his site has reached the first page of Google and his community on Facebook has over 1,200 fans. He releases his new e-book ‘Making Sense of the Madness, a FASD Survival Guide’ on March 1, 2012. View Guest page

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Joan O’Callaghan

Joan O’Callaghan recently experienced family caregiving at home for her late mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. In her work life, Joan’s a faculty member at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, where she trains high school English teachers. She holds an Honours BA in English Language and Literature, an MA in English Literature, and a BEd. She’s received the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching from Queen’s University. She was named Professor of the Year by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Students Council, Most Engaging English Instructor and Most Inspirational Instructor.
As well as her academic work, she has an active career in freelance writing, with three books and numerous articles.
Her late husband, J Patrick O’Callaghan, who was prominent in the newspaper world, continues to be a major influence in her life. And all the activities of her busy life are closely supervised by her cat Benny.
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Megan O’Toole

Megan O’Toole is a veteran Canadian journalist frequently sought after for interviews on her work. With thousands of articles published by major media outlets from coast to coast, she has held key positions at both of Canada’s national newspapers, editing the front page of The Globe and Mail before joining the National Post’s elite reporting team. Her stories are regularly syndicated via the Postmedia chain of newspapers. Covering everything from legislative politics, to crime, to breaking news, to business and the arts, she’s generated scores of unique features and investigative projects over the years. A trained photographer, she is also a published photojournalist. http://meganotoole.ca/finding-grace/
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Laurie Orlov

Laurie Orlov advises large organizations as well as non-profits and entrepreneurs about trends and opportunities in the age-related technology market. She spent more than 30 years in the technology industry, including 24 years in information technology and 9 years as a leading industry analyst at Forrester Research. She has been featured on Caring.com, MatureMarkets, SilverPlanet, Mobile Health News, and her blog entries are widely syndicated. Her segmentation of this emerging technology market and trends commentary has been presented in the Journal of Geriatric Care Management and ASA's Aging Today Online. She has been profiled in the New York Times and Huffington Post. She has a graduate certification in Geriatric Care Management from the University of Florida and a BA in Music from the University of Rochester. She’s consulted to AARP and is a participating expert on the Think Tank for The Philips Center for Health and Well-Being.
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Matthew J Padberg

Matthew J. Padberg is a principal and partner in The Padberg & Corrigan Law Firm, www.padbergcorrigan.com, which concentrates exclusively on civil litigation, medical malpractice, aviation law, workers’ compensation, general personal injury law, and wrongful death. He concentrates his practice on representing individuals and families who have been impacted by either personal injury or death. He’s represented persons injured or killed through acts of medical negligence, product liability, nursing home abuse, aircraft accidents, helicopter accidents, work site accidents, construction site injuries, including crane accidents, death caused by electrocutions and chemical exposures. He received his law degree from the University of Missouri—Columbia in 1983. While in law school, he worked at the Missouri Supreme Court and was a law clerk for the Eastern District Court of Appeals. Since 2001, he’s served as an adjunct professor of law at the St. Louis University Law School.
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Jill Paterson

Jill Paterson is a Project Manager for the Historica-Dominion Institute, Historica-Dominion Institute She oversees Canada’s largest oral history project which since 2009 has interviewed over 2600 veterans of the Second World War and the Korean War. She has worked, primarily, on the Memory Project Archive and Speakers Bureau since 2006 but has also managed programs such as the Sir John A Day education campaign. She holds an MA in Public History from the University of Waterloo and a MA in History from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. She has travelled from St. John's to Whitehorse, and all points in between, in search of veterans who are willing to share their story.
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Bob Pearson

Bob Pearson has been addressing environmental safety mainly at the industrial level since 1975. Over the years his expertise has been applied to the development of various products that are now available to the general public. Several government agencies have relied on him and his team to make recommendations to elevate safety and reduce slips and falls. Workplace and in-home slip and fall prevention is a major concern to him. He truly believes that by taking a few minutes to review, identify and eliminate potential hazards we can all benefit. He is now and has been the President of Kimmel of Canada for the past six years. Prior to that he was in partnership with his now 79-year-old father. Their business was developed and based on providing quality products and services that were of great value. To this day he will tell you that he treats people in the way he would like his mother and father treated and that he expects that same commitment on the part of all his staff and dealers.
Neila Curtin has worked with the aging population in many different capacities over the past 20 years. She has acquired hands-on experience working as an Activities Director, Marketing Director, Executive Director, and in corporate positions in the sector. In addition, she served as Executive Director of a home care agency. It is this experience that has given her a keen understanding of the difficulties experienced by people navigating the maze of lifestyle options available to the senior population. Currently, she responsible for the oversight of the operation of the retirement home portfolio with Greenwood Retirement Communities and is accountable for all aspects including labour relations, sales and marketing, financial management and in monitors quality in all of their residences to ensure adherence to corporate guidelines, policies and standards, provincial statues, regulations and standards of regulatory bodies and associations.
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Deborah Peel

Deborah Peel, MD, is a practicing psychoanalyst and American health privacy expert. In 2004, she founded Patient Privacy Rights, now the leading US consumer health-privacy watchdog with 10,000 members, http://patientprivacyrights.org/.
She fights to restore patients’ rights to control their health information in electronic systems to prevent generations of discrimination in jobs and future opportunities. She leads the bipartisan Coalition for Patient Privacy, representing 10 million Americans. The Coalition’s efforts resulted in strong new privacy requirements for electronic health records systems built with the billions in stimulus funds: a ban on the sale of personal health information without consent, audit trails, segmentation, breach notice, encryption, and the right to prevent disclosure of health records for payment and healthcare operations if treatment is paid for out-of-pocket. She’s been elected one of ModernHealthcare’s “100 Most Powerful in Healthcare” since 2007. View Guest page

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Rosanna Penilla-Bharucha

Rosanna Penilla-Bharucha is the Executive Director at Retire-At-Home Services in Mississauga-Milton, http://www.RetireAtHomeMississauga.com, which provides personalized in-home health care, home support services and nursing care, for seniors and their families. The services aim to ensure safety and independence for seniors, and peace of mind for their families, so seniors in Mississauga-Milton can truly retire at home. She’s a Certified Professional Consultant on Aging and a passionate advocate for seniors and their families. She volunteers with the Peel Elder Abuse Prevention Network. She founded the Boomers in Peel and Boomers in Halton multicultural mix groups to provide support and education. She fundraises for Canada Cares and the ALS Society of Canada. Through Retire-At-Home, she aims to provide premium, comprehensive care to the highest standards of excellence while working together with clients, family caregivers, and community partners to match their needs and preferences.
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Rosanna Penilla-Bharucha

Rosanna Penilla-Bharucha owns The Boomerpreneur, http://theboomerpreneur.ca/. She also is the Executive Director at Retire-At-Home Services in Mississauga-Milton, http://www.RetireAtHomeMississauga.com, which provides personalized in-home health care, home support services and nursing care, for seniors and their families. The services aim to ensure safety and independence for seniors, and peace of mind for their families. She’s a Certified Professional Consultant on Aging and a passionate advocate for seniors and their families. She volunteers with the Peel Elder Abuse Prevention Network. She founded the Boomers in Peel and Boomers in Halton multicultural mix groups to provide support and education. She fundraises for Canada Cares and the ALS Society of Canada. Through Retire-At-Home, she aims to provide premium, comprehensive care to the highest standards of excellence while working together with clients, family caregivers, and community partners to match their needs and preferences.
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Judith Phillips

Judith Phillips is Professor of Gerontology and Social Work in the Centre for Innovative Ageing at Swansea University, Wales. She is director of the Older People and Ageing Research and Development Network in Wales, president of the British Society of Gerontology, editor of the Policy Press series ‘Ageing and the Lifecourse’, and a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. Her research interests are in social aspects of ageing, social work, social care, carers in employment, housing and retirement communities, intergenerational networks, carework and older offenders.
In 2002, she won the Work-life Balance Trust award for non-fiction based on her research on juggling work and care for older people. She’s published over 100 papers and books. Her recent publications include Ageing at the intersection of work and home life: Blurring the Boundaries (Taylor and Francis, 2008 with Anne Martin-Mathews); Care: Key Concepts (Polity Press, 2007). She’s a qualified social worker.
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Lianne Picot

Lianne Picot is a Story Coach & Consultant who is the owner of Very Good Stories, www.verygoodstories.com, a business helping organizations and individuals to develop their skills in storytelling. She was a practitioner and leader in the UK, Ireland and Canada for over 20 years, working in and leading a range of services including homelessness, housing, mental health, youth engagement and volunteering. As a Story Coach and Consultant, she now enables individuals and organizations to be more successful in their endeavours by helping them to find and tell their best stories. Her services include individual strategy sessions, workshops and event speaking. She’s passionate about storytelling as she truly believes it can make our world a better place.
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Savanna Pietrantonio

Savanna Pietrantonio is a Life Strategy Coach helping people across the globe support FASD. She co-chairs the Hamilton FASD Caregiver and Parent Support Group and supports the newly launched Youth and Siblings FASD Support Group. She is an adult living with FASD. She recognized that she had FASD only when she turned 35 after having been repeatedly misdiagnosed. Owing to the misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment she struggled over the years with the common secondary or tertiary disabilities of FASD. She has taken mindfulness training, dialectal behavior therapy training and Diane Malbin’s Neurobehavioral training programs. She uses this training to help her cope with FASD and also help others understand and support FASD. She wrote a blog on the reasons for meltdowns that is used by FASD support sites across the globe, http://ow.ly/Pi29S. Her blog has been described as explaining the reasons for meltdowns in a manner that none of the professionals have ever been able to do!
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Leona Pinsky

Leona Pinsky holds the Bachelor of Arts degree and the Bachelor of Law degree. She trained and worked as a lawyer. She and her husband of 25 years have four children. She stopped working before their third child. Their youngest, born in 1999, has cystic fibrosis. She’d planned to return to work but their child with cystic fibrosis has very complicated health. As a result, she chose to stay at home and focus her energies on her family. Her doing so minimizes the disruption of cystic fibrosis to their lives. She finds fulfillment outside of the home by working for Cystic Fibrosis Canada, www.cysticfibrosis.ca, a cause to which she’s dedicated. And for which she is amply qualified through her proven ability to fundraise, exceptional volunteer and not-for-profit experience including policy formation, advocacy, strategic planning and fundraising, her legal training, strong understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a not-for-profit director, and her comfort with vigorous debate.
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Kirk Pion

Kirk Pion is Vice President of Design & Development for the UnitedHealthcare Innovation Centers of Excellence, an innovation lab that creates new health programs for the company’s major business segments. He’s responsible for the Centers' innovation pipeline and pilot portfolio, with efforts focused on improving health care affordability, consumer engagement, nutrition, wearable health and caregiving. He has more than 25 years of experience in innovation, health care and business consulting. Prior to UnitedHealthcare, he spent 15 years with a regional health plan in a variety of product development and marketing roles. He helped significantly grow that organization’s membership in consumer-directed health plans, overseeing the development of value-based plan designs and integrated health and disability programs. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Macalester College and a Master of Health Administration from the University of Michigan.
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Karen Pivnick

Karen Pivnick owns Topcat Relocation Transition Solutions. Inspired by her own 7 years of experience of transitioning her parents as they dealt with the emotional and physical challenges of aging, she set up Topcat to meet the needs of seniors’ moves and transitions. Topcat takes care of the details involved with planning, pre-move decisions and organizing, disposition of unwanted content, move logistics and complete set up of the new residence. She’s been principal caregiver for her parents for the past 7 years. Her first-hand experience in helping them through two separate moves to more supportive environments, dealing with their individual crisis situations, navigating the healthcare system and coordinating complex home care support has equipped her to advocate and to take an active role in assisting her clients to move forward. She’s a Certified Professional Consultant on Aging and Relocation Specialist. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband and 3 cats.
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Meredith Roman Pizzi

Meredith Roman Pizzi is the Founder and Director of Roman Music Therapy Services, a music therapy agency which serves children and adults with social, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, physical, and educational needs. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Therapy. She completed her music therapy internship at Alternatives for Children in Long Island, NY.
Her experience includes young children with and without disabilities, and individuals of all ages with complex medical and developmental needs, such as non-verbal learners, and individuals with conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, Down Syndrome, and Williams Syndrome.
She has developed an early childhood music program called Sprouting Melodies. She supervises music therapy students in their training. And she provides numerous presentations and workshops to a wide-ranging audience. See her work at http://www.romanmusictherapy.com/473/index.html. Contact her at 781-665-0700 or mpizzi@romanmusictherapy.com.
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Kenneth Pope

Kenneth Pope has practiced law in Ontario since 1980. He offers specialized support to individuals with disabilities and their families. He is dedicated to providing legal, tax and estate planning services to families in Ontario and across Canada. Through his experience in working with special needs families, he’s become an expert in writing wills with trusts which ensure that parents of children with disabilities can protect inheritances while preserving provincial disability benefits. He’s knowledgeable in Testamentary and Inter Vivos Trusts, asset protection, minimizing taxes on inherited assets (including income generated by those assets), Powers of Attorney, competency issues, contested and uncontested estate administration, Elder Law, and Succession Planning in general. He has an extensive background with non-profit and charitable organizations. He’s been a founding member, has served as president, and has been on the board and committees of numerous non-profit organizations.
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Robert S. Porter

Dr. Robert S. Porter, an Emergency Physician by specialty, is editor-in-chief of The Merck Manuals. He oversees the staff and over 400 national and international medical specialists in the preparation and publication in print and online of all the Merck Manuals. These include the Merck Manual Home Health Handbook, which translates the professional version into everyday language. He led the transition of The Manuals from print-centric products to a continuously updated online reference source. He’s currently Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. Prior to joining Merck, he was a member of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia PA. He holds the BA from Duke University and the MD from Hahnemann University, completed his medical internship at the Cleveland Clinic and Emergency Medicine and his residency at Mt. Sinai Medical Center of Cleveland, where he was chief resident in Emergency Medicine. View Guest page

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Al Power

Dr Al Power, MD, is Eden Mentor at St. Sarah’s Home in Rochester, NY, and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester. He is a board certified internist and geriatrician, and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians / American Society for Internal Medicine. His new book, Dementia Beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care was released in February 2010. He’s a Certified Eden Alternative® Educator and a member of the Eden Alternative’s board of directors. He’s a widely travelled lecturer, speaker and consultant on dementia and other elder care topics. He’s a weekly contributor to Eden Founder Dr. Bill Thomas’ Green House ChangingAging on Facebook. He’s been widely interviewed by media nationally and internationally. He’s also a trained musician and songwriter with three recordings, including Life Worth Living: A Celebration of Elders and Those Who Care for Them. His songs have been recorded by several artists and performed on three continents. View Guest page

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Dr. Al Power

Dr. Al Power, www.alpower.net, is a board certified internist and geriatrician, clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Rochester, and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians / American Society for Internal Medicine. He’s a Certified Eden Alternative® Educator. His book, “Dementia Beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care”, won a 2010 Book of the Year Award of the American Journal of Nursing, and a Merit Award of the 2011 National Mature Media Awards. “Dementia Beyond Disease: Enhancing Well-Being” is to be released in mid-2014 by Health Professions Press. He’s recognized internationally. He’s a trained musician and songwriter, including “Life Worth Living” a celebration of elders and those who care for them. His songs have been recorded by several artists. Peter, Paul and Mary performed his song of elder autonomy, “If You Don’t Mind”, and Walter Cronkite used his song, “I’ll Love You Forever” in a 1995 Discovery Channel profile of American families.
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Michael Power

Michael Power is a Toronto-based lawyer who advises both public and private sector clients on privacy and information risk management issues. During the course of his 25 years in law, he has held various positions, including Vice-President, Privacy and Security, at an Ontario Crown agency; a partner with Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP; and a member of the federal Department of Justice advising on trade and technology-related issues. He writes and speaks extensively on privacy and information security issues. He is the author of the Access to Information and Privacy Title of Halsbury’s Laws of Canada and co-author of the American Bar Association best-seller Sailing in Dangerous Waters: A Director’s Guide to Data Governance. He is a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers Society and the Law Society of Upper Canada. He also serves as a member of the senior advisory board of the magazine, Security & Privacy, of the IEEE, the world's leading professional association for the advancement of technology. View Guest page

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Marilyn Pytka

Marilyn Pytka found herself in financial, physical, professional and personal ruin after spending over 20 years as her mother’s family caregiver. She was forced into litigation immediately following her mother’s death. She then found herself fighting for herself and her young child in a legal system that marginalized, denigrated and trivialized her. She says that Canada has laws to protect women who give up their careers to care for their family, but lacks laws to protect family caregivers, usually women from low-income families, caring for family members. Determined that Canadian family caregivers, their families and future generations will not suffer the fate she has experienced, she’s testified before a Parliamentary Committee and addressed federal and provincial politicians about the need for legislation to protect people such as herself from the infringements of their rights and compensation after years of caring for a loved one who is elderly, ill or dying. mapytka@sympatico.ca
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Carlos Quiñonez

Dr Carlos Quiñonez is a dentist and researcher, and Director of the Specialty Training Program in Dental Public Health at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto. His research interests focus on the politics and economics of dentistry, mainly as they relate to equity in oral health and access to dental care. He has clinical experience in various areas, including mobile and long-term care settings.
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Doug Race

Doug Race, a Board member of the Schizophrenia Society of Canada, is acting as the Education committee Chair and is a member of the Advocacy committee. A Board member with the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta since 2011, he’s Vice-Chair and Governance Committee Chair. From 2009 to 2012 he was a Board Member of the Lovella Centre Society of Central Alberta, a non-profit organization providing housing and programs for individuals living with severe mental illness during their transition from hospital back to the community. His brother lives with schizophrenia. Through his family’s experiences he’s learned of the troubles in managing this illness, and developed tremendous compassion for individuals and families coping with severe mental illnesses. He believes that that more can be done by government and society to make things better for all. In 2006 he earned the BSc in science, major in Chemistry, from St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, Canada. He works in oil and gas.
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Gabriel Radvansky

Dr Gabriel Radvansky is an author of the recent research report, “Walking through doorways----how forgetting works normally”. He’s Professor, in the Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, where he has been on the faculty since 1993. He received his PhD in 1992 from Michigan State University. He has over 50 publications in various scientific journals and books. He was an associate editor at the journal ‘Memory & Cognition’, and is currently an associate editor at the ‘Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology’. His research largely focuses on memory and comprehension, with an emphasis on event cognition and aging.
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Dr. Mark Ragins

Dr. Mark Ragins is the Medical Director at the MHA Village Integrated Service Agency in Long Beach, California, an award-winning model of recovery based mental health services. He has worked there since its beginning in 1990 as a psychiatrist for the adult service coordination teams, the Homeless Assistance Program, the Transition Age Youth Academy, and now the Welcoming Team. Many of his writings are posted at www.mhavillage.org including his short book ‘A Road to Recovery’ which is also available at amazon.com and has been translated into Japanese and Korean. He was featured in Steve Lopez’s book ‘The Soloist’. He has won a number of awards including the APA’s Van Amerigan award and USPRA’s John Beard award for his outstanding lifetime contribution to psychiatric rehabilitation as well as being selected as a distinguished fellow by the American Psychiatric Association. He has become one of the true pioneers and leaders of recovery based psychiatry.
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Philip C. Ralph

Philip C. Ralph, CD, is National Program Director, Wounded Warriors Canada, http://www.woundedwarriors.ca/. Since its founding in 2006 he’s served in various capacities, including Chair for two years. As Program Director he oversees the implementation of a robust slate of programming benefiting Veterans. He serves the Canadian Forces as the Regimental Chaplain to the 32 Combat Engineer Regiment in Toronto. He’s passionate about for helping today’s Veterans towards wholeness and healing. He’s served as Directing Staff at the Canadian Force Chaplains School and Centre. He’s also served as the Senior Chaplain at Blackdown Cadet Training Centre supervising his staff as they cared for a Camp of 3,000 personnel including up to 2,500 young people. In his civilian capacity, he serves a busy suburban congregation as the Senior Pastor of Ajax Baptist Church. He holds a Bachelor of Theology degree from Ontario Bible College and a Master of Divinity degree from Ontario Theological Seminary.
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Dr. Vidya Raman-Tangella

Dr. Vidya Raman-Tangella heads UnitedHealthcare’s Innovation Center of Excellence. She and her team design, develop and scale breakthrough innovations that help address unmet health needs through the use of cutting-edge concepts and technology, including mobile apps and integrated health and wellness programs. A clinician by training, she has 20 years of healthcare experience. Prior to joining UnitedHealthcare, she held a senior management position at Johnson & Johnson, where she led the design of integrated and tailored health and wellness solutions for employers and health plans. She’s presented at the Employer Healthcare Congress, the “Unleashing Innovation Summit,” the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Conference, and the International Consumer Electronics Show, among many others. She holds bachelors’ degrees of medicine and surgery degree from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India. She earned a master’s of health administration from Cornell University, New York.
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Jessica Hutton Rantala

Jessica Hutton Rantala is a Behaviour Specialist specializing in supports for persons living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), and for their family caregivers and families. She has a sister and nephew with FASD. Her education, including a degree in Psychology, as well as her personal experience gives her a unique understanding of FASD, the struggles it brings and the strategies that work. She and her consulting firm, Jessica Hutton Rantala Consulting, http://ow.ly/JP840, provide program development, customized training, and crisis intervention and behavior consultation. She’s implemented an FASD Pilot Program for the government of British Columbia. This supports adults with FASD in a home environment with 24-hour care. She currently lives in Northern Alberta and travels primarily throughout Alberta and British Columbia with her work. She’s also a qualified supplier to the governments of Alberta and British Columbia.
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Candace Ray

Candace Ray joined the Lighthouse Program for Grieving Children, http://www.grievingchildrenlighthouse.org/, as Program Director in January of 2013. She brought with her over 20 years of experience in social work and public education. While employed as a social worker, she completed her Master’s degree in Education at the University of Vermont in 1992. She spent the next four years as a Special Educator in a public high school and earned a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Education at the University of Vermont in 1998 before moving to Canada. In addition to her experience as a teacher and social worker, she has spent over 10 years coordinating programs and working with volunteers at Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring organizations in both Canada and the United States. She is passionate and committed to supporting children, youth and their families as they face difficult life challenges.
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Dr. Jeannette Raymond

Dr. Jeannette Raymond, author of “Now You Want Me, Now You Don’t!”, Nowyouwantmenowyoudont.com, is a psychologist and psychotherapist with a private practice in Los Angeles, California. Born in Calcutta, India, she was educated in Great Britain, getting her M.Ed before beginning her career as a child and educational psychologist. After settling in America she obtained her Ph.D. in clinical psychology and switched her focus to helping adults establish more secure relationships. She contributes to training courses for psychotherapists and offers insight and relationship advice on a regular basis via her blogs and videos.
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Dr. Geoffrey Reaume

Dr. Geoffrey Reaume is Associate Professor in the Critical Disability Studies graduate program at York University where he has taught since 2004. His research is informed by his experiences as a psychiatric in-patient and out-patient as a teenager and young adult. He has been involved in the psychiatric survivor/consumer community in Toronto since 1990. His doctoral dissertation was published as Remembrance of Patients Past: Patient Life at the Toronto Hospital for the Insane, 1870-1940. He is a co-founder of Psychiatric Survivor Archives, Toronto (founded 2001). Since 2000 he has given over 100 history tours of the patient built nineteenth century Toronto Asylum boundary walls, now marked by nine wall plaques, at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health based on research from his book. He introduced and has taught Mad People’s History at all three universities in Toronto. He is the recipient of the 2009-10 Faculty of Graduate Studies Teaching Award at York University. View Guest page

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Tom Regehr

Tom Regehr, self-employed since he was 14, is the founder of CAST Canada, http://www.cast-canada.ca/. CAST coordinates workshops, conferences and keynote speaking to help professionals and corporations to better understand trauma and unresolved grief in addictions, homelessness, chronic unemployment and mental illness. He reflects his own direct, lived experience with these challenges. He’s developed his materials by facilitating over 80 panel discussions in which individuals recovering from trauma and addictions offer feedback to helping professionals. He’s developed unique trauma-based workshops for service providers and clinicians. Many agencies and organizations have used his materials, which have been adopted as curriculum at McMaster University, for ‘all staff’ events. He’s been contracted by various organizations, government agencies and First Nations communities. He travels to Ontario High Schools to educate youth about addictions in their communities and their homes.
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Dr. Anna Reid

Dr. Anna Reid, President, 2012–2013, Canadian Medical Association, http://www.cma.ca/, received her medical degree, in 1986 from the University of Ottawa. She completed her family practice residency in 1988 through the University of British Columbia. She completed further critical care and trauma training in 2000. She was a rural and community family practice locum from 1988 to 1995 in the North West Territories and British Columbia. She practiced comprehensive family practice in Nelson, British Columbia, from 1995 until 2000, enjoying especially palliative care and geriatric work. She was an emergency and intensive care unit physician at Kootenay Lake Hospital in Nelson between 2001 and 2008. In 2008 she was recruited to Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife North West Territories, where she practices emergency medicine and hospitalist work. She is deeply concerned about the homeless, mentally ill and addicted patients who face inequities in access to care. View Guest page

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Susan Reinhard

Susan Reinhard is a Senior Vice President at AARP, directing its Public Policy Institute, the focal point for public policy research and analysis. She also serves as the Chief Strategist for the Center to Champion Nursing in America at AARP, a national resource and technical assistance center created to ensure that America has the nurses it needs. Before joining AARP, Dr. Reinhard served as a Professor and Co-Director of Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, where she directed several national initiatives to work with states to help people with disabilities of all ages live in their homes and communities. In previous work, she served three governors as Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, where she led the development of health policies and nationally recognized programs for family caregiving, consumer choice and control in health and supportive care, assisted living and other community-based care options. View Guest page

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Heather Resnick

Heather Resnick is a Revolutionary Parent who for 26 years has advocated for her daughter who lives with a mild intellectual disability. Since 2007, she’s advocated for supports for people with intellectual disabilities who are capable of living independently. She’s spent countless hours researching, writing articles and conferring with professionals of all levels of governments, social service agencies, school boards, and parents all with the hope of creating transition job training programs and employment. She fervently believes that with these programs in place, people with intellectual disabilities can take their rightful place in society as contributing members of the workplace, with the dignity they deserve. Despite her efforts she has seen little in the way of progressive change. She graduated from York University, Faculty of Arts and Seneca College, Legal Administration and Government Operations. She’s the author of ‘’Women Reworked: Empowering Women in Employment Transition”.
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Leann Reynolds

Leann Reynolds is President of Homewatch CareGivers. Appointed President in 2006, she’s doubled the organization in size. She guides its strategic direction, manages the leadership team, and fosters the overall company culture. Prior to becoming President, she owned and operated her own Homewatch CareGivers franchise in Portland, Oregon, which opened in the summer of 2003. Working in this business gave her a real understanding of and compassion for the day-to-day lives of Franchise Partners, fueling her passion for creating a support-focused franchising organization. Prior to 2003, she worked for several large technology companies such as Hewlett Packard and EDS. She holds the BS of Business in Administration from the University of Colorado. She enjoys her family time in a household of men with her husband, three sons and their dog Herman.
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Erika Richards-Harding

Erika Richards-Harding was born in Chicago Illinois. She attended Culver Military academy, a boarding school in Indiana, where she first met JR. At college she earned a journalism and dance degree. Her first job brought her to Lake Tahoe where, during a reporting assignment, she was asked to plan parties for a living, from which grew her company, EVENTUS. She worked with the Atlanta and Salt Lake Olympics and travelled widely. Her travels took her to Atlanta, where JR reached out and asked her to attend the FSU GATOR football game. As he says it, that was the hook and all he had to do was reel her in. She recently passed the USPTA tennis certification exam and now teaches tennis. Other successes include writing “Now What” with JR and their continued advocacy. She’s served on the Chamber of Commerce for persons with Disabilities, The Tallahassee Equal Opportunity Council and currently serves on the Board for the local center for Independent Living, Ability 1st.
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Cindy Richman

Cindy Richman is the Senior Director of Patient and Healthcare Relations with the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA), http://www.mymsaa.org/, a national non-profit and leading resource for the entire MS community, improving lives today through vital services and support. She joined MSAA in 2000 and serves as an advocate for patients and providers. Her focus is patient education to increase health literacy, and promoting a successful partnership with the healthcare team. The important areas she’s worked on in her role with MSAA include the impact of chronic illness and disability on the family, access to health insurance and government benefits, shared treatment decision-making to improve outcomes, and evaluating risk/benefit in an ever-changing environment. View Guest page

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Robert Ridge

Robert Ridge is President and CEO Canadian MedicAlert Foundation, a position he’s held since April 2008. His mandate is to continue to provide Canadians with the highest quality independent personal health information system available in the country. Prior to President and CEO appointment he held the position of Vice-President, having joined MedicAlert in 2001 and having worked broadly within the organization. He has more than 20 years of senior management experience spanning the for-profit and non-for-profit sectors in Canada. His experience includes senior management positions in the heavy construction, entertainment and public art sectors. He graduated from the Schulich School of Business at York University with a Master of Business Administration degree, with honours. He’s completed executive management studies at the Harvard Business School and the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a Certified Management Accountant.
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Bruce Ritchie

Bruce Ritchie is Moderator & CEO, FASLink Fetal Alcohol Disorders Society, and a single father of a son who was diagnosed with FAS as an infant. With early diagnosis and intensive intervention and despite great challenges, his son graduated from high school as an Ontario Scholar and is now studying online for his BA. In 1991, Bruce was a founding director of the Fetal Alcohol Support Network, a branch of which went online with FASlink, now serving more than 400,000 people annually. He received Toronto’s St Michael's Hospital’s Award for Pioneer Work in the Area of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. In 2007, He led the Great FASD Horseback Ride and Trek across Canada. He received Eagle Feathers from First Nations and the Métis Nation Honour Sash in recognition of his work. He is a new technologies entrepreneur, has established precedents in family law and is a published researcher, author, photographer, artist and musician. Visit him at www.faslink.org www.faslink.org and www.acbr.com
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Bruce Ritchie

Bruce Ritchie is Moderator and CEO of FASlink Fetal Alcohol Disorders Society, http://www.faslink.org/, and a single father of a son who was diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome as an infant. Bruce was a founding director of the Fetal Alcohol Support Network which evolved to become FASlink Fetal Alcohol Disorders Society, which now serves more than 400,000 people annually. He received Toronto’s St Michael's Hospital’s Award for Pioneer Work in the Area of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. View Guest page

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Alexa Roggeveen

Dr Alexa Roggeveen has been the Lead Researcher at Canada’s Sheridan Elder Research Centre since 2009, where she has designed and coordinated research projects on topics ranging from dance to computer use, and their benefits for older adults. Prior to her work at the Sheridan Elder Research Centre, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at McMaster University, specializing in visual perception in older adults. She earned her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology at the University of British Columbia in 2007. View Guest page

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Linda Rosenbaum

Linda Rosenbaum’s new book, ‘Not Exactly as Planned: A memoir of adoption, secrets and abiding love’ was published in 2014. It’s a memoir about her family and the unexpected challenges of raising their son Michael, adopted at birth, diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome at age six. She’s been a freelance writer and editor for over thirty years, and has written for major newspapers and magazines. The precursor to ‘Not Exactly as Planned’ won the Canada Writes Reader’s Choice Award in 2013 for Creative Non-fiction. Born in Detroit, she attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and moved to Canada in 1970. She earned a graduate degree in public health from the University of Toronto, worked for City of Toronto’s public health department and the Ontario government’s Ministry of Citizenship. Since her son’s diagnosis she’s become an advocate for children with FASD and other special needs. She blogs at linda-rosenbaum.blogspot.com.
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Peter Rosenthal

Peter Rosenthal has been Professor of Mathematics at the University of Toronto since 1967. His interest in law stems from his interest in social justice. He’d had a long career as a paralegal representing protesters charged with summary conviction offences, people before administrative tribunals, including workers fighting denials of compensation, and a lawyer in a disciplinary hearing before the Law Society of Upper Canada. He subsequently attended law school, graduated from the University of Toronto in 1990, and was called to the bar in 1992. He has since represented protesters, including members of the Black Action Defence Committee, of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, and G20 activists. He’s conducted criminal, civil and constitutional litigation at all levels of courts, and acted at many coroner's inquests. He still teaches mathematics at the University of Toronto and researches in mathematics. He’s also Adjunct Professor of Law, teaching "Litigation and Social Change."
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Craig Ross

Craig Ross is Associate, Wills, Estates and Trusts, with the law firm, Pallett Valo LLP, of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He received his Honours BA from the University of Toronto in 2002 and his LLB from Osgoode Hall in 2005. Called to the bar in 2006, he’s practised exclusively in Wills, Estates and Trusts. His practice includes complicated estate planning for business owners, U.S. citizens, international Wills, and disabled beneficiaries; use of trusts in various ways to achieve estate protection and income tax savings; and representing and advising attorneys and guardians for personal care. He’s a founding member and director of the Estate Planning Council of Mississauga and a director of Community Living Mississauga. He’s frequently invited to speak to community groups, businesses and professional associations on issues of estate planning and estate administration. He’s presented on these topics for the Ontario Bar Association and the Law Society of Upper Canada. View Guest page

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Sarah Rowan

Sarah Rowan holds the Bachelors and Masters degrees in elementary education. She is a sister, mother, grandmother and friend. She was born into nurturing. In war, strong women of her family stayed behind to manage the land, and love and support one another. Her mama cared for her uncle as a wounded veteran with lingering injuries. When she was 11 years old, her father was killed in a motor vehicle accident. Mama, her extended family and community provided the love when daddy was no longer there. Experienced in family caregiving from an early age, Sarah lived what she believed. “Living the belief” was the strength for her support for her physician husband as he slipped into Alzheimer’s disease. It was the strength for her as she survived her breast cancer. And it is there in the messages she brings to audiences world-wide, messages of hope and faith and beauty and dignity, messages as distinct and compelling -- and yet as gentle and personal as a whisper. Sarah is the Heart Whisperer.
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Andrew Rubin

Andrew Rubin is a screenwriter, producer, director, and editor in documentaries and narratives. The film, Ride with Larry, is to be a part of a movement to empower the lives of those with Parkinson’s today while fighting for a cure for tomorrow. He’s produced and directed six films that have premiered in various film festivals. He graduated from New York University's Tisch Film School. He’s currently working with a team of Parkinson’s advocates to create a documentary that puts a day-to-day face on the fight against Parkinson’s. Along with all those working to create Ride with Larry, Andrew has been personally affected by Parkinson’s disease in the immediate family. View Guest page

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Dr. Abraham (Rami) Rudnick

Dr. Abraham (Rami) Rudnick is a certified psychiatrist and a PhD-trained philosopher, harudnick@hotmail.com. At the University of British Columbia he’s an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Island Medical Program and an Associate Member of the Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics. He’s the Medical Director of the Mental Health and Substance Use Services and the Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the Vancouver Island Health Authority. A Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner and a Canadian Certified Physician Executive, he’s staff psychiatrist at the Victoria Mental Health Centre in Victoria, British Columbia. A member of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy at Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, he’s the founder of the Canadian Unit of the International Network of a UNESCO Chair in Bioethics. He’s led research and professional and public education in psychiatric rehabilitation in Canada, the United States and elsewhere
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Renee Ruiter-Kohn

Dr. Renee Ruiter-Kohn’s holds a doctoral degree in philosophy, with a specialty in community rehabilitation and disability studies. Her areas of expertise are career development and vocational/planning and service delivery. She provides various services including individual case management, interpersonal counselling and vocational counselling, working with insurers and lawyers conducting file reviews, preparing future care plans and supplying expert opinions for their clients. She is the Past Chairperson, Education Committee, Ontario Rehabilitation/Work Council, was an Examiner for Ontario College of Certified Social Workers. She chaired the York-Seneca Rehabilitation Services Program Advisory Committee and was a trustee on the board of Bloorview MacMillan Centre.
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Laura Rutherford

Laura Rutherford and her husband, Mark, are the founders of Kate’s Voice -- a non-profit that grants music therapy programs to special needs classrooms. She is the mother of three children. Her oldest child, Kate, has multiple developmental and physical disabilities and inspired Kate’s Voice. Laura has seen firsthand the unique power music has to reach children with special needs. It’s her dream and vision to bring this music to as many such children as possible. To find out more about Kate’s Voice, go to www.katesvoice.org
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from St. Lawrence University and a Master of Arts degree in writing from Northeastern University. Besides spending time with her family, She enjoys writing, reading, running, spinning, and yoga. View Guest page

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Mark Rutherford

Mark Rutherford is Senior Director, Marketing, for Philips Lifeline which is part of Philips Healthcare. He oversees marketing for the Medical Alert and Medication Adherence Services. He joined Philips Healthcare in 2005 as Vice President, Consumer Marketing, Philips Lifeline.
He works with personal emergency response devices, and medication adherence through Philips’ medication dispensing service. He’s involved in research on successful aging in place programs. All this work involves him with seniors, caregivers and healthcare professionals.
His objective is to help people improve or maintain their quality of life and remain independent for as long as possible. At home he plays the role of caregiver to his special needs daughter. This is partially what drew him to this opportunity with Philips, his desire to help all people remain independent. His previous experience includes marketing and advertising. He has a BSc in Psychology from St Lawrence University.
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Fred C. Ryall

Fred C. Ryall, CHS, is with Bearing Capital Partners, where he specializes in estate planning for business owners, professionals, executives and more specifically families who have special needs children. He played professional football for the Toronto Argonauts 1973-1974. He began his career in the Life Insurance business with London Life in 1975. He has 35 years of membership of The Financial Advisors Association of Canada (Advocis), and is Past President and now a board member of Advocis Peel Halton. He’s a board member of the Community Foundation of Mississauga, a member of the Estate Planning Council of Mississauga and a member of the Century Initiative program. Over the last 18 years he’s raised $400,000 for Cystic Fibrosis in connection with which he is recipient of the Julia award. He’s a former Board member of Jakes House, an organization for Autistic children. In 2008, he completed the Boston Marathon.
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Leslie Ryan

Leslie Ryan has been the Care Services Director for The ALS Association Rocky Mountain Chapter since 2004, http://www.alsa.org/. After receiving her Masters of Physical Therapy at Boston University, she worked as a clinician in a variety of settings before transitioning to the non-profit sector. Currently, she is responsible for creating, improving, implementing and maintaining programs available to people living with ALS, their families, friends and communities in Colorado and Wyoming. She is involved in many facets of the healthcare community in Colorado, and has a strong focus on strategic partnerships and collaboration to increase availability of quality services and awareness about ALS.
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Elyn R. Saks

Elyn R. Saks is Orrin B. Evans Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law; Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine; and Faculty at the New Center for Psychoanalysis. She has a BA, MLitt, JD, PhD, and Honorary LLD. She’s published four books and more than 40 articles and book chapters about law and mental health. Her most recent book, The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness (Hyperion, 2007) describes her struggles with schizophrenia and her managing to craft a good life for herself in the face of a dire prognosis. It’s won numerous honors. She’s a 2009 recipient of a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship (the so-called “Genius Grant”). She used this to found the Saks Institute for Mental Health Law, Policy, and Ethics at the University of California. She lives with her husband, Will Vinet, in Los Angeles, California.
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Haley Samuelson

Haley Samuelson holds a bachelor’s degree in Health Services Administration with an emphasis in Gerontology from the University of South Dakota. Since 2008, she’s been Director of Home and Community-Based Services for the Good Samaritan Society at the National Campus in Sioux Falls, SD. She’s responsible for the development of delivery systems for care and services for home and community. These include Home Health, Non-Medical Home Care, Hospice care, Home care and Community-based Technologies. Her responsibilities include carrying out the Society’s strategic plan as it relates to the diversification of Home and Community-based services across the Society. After graduating, she entered the Good Samaritan Society’s Administrator-In-Training program and she served as a licensed Administrator in Nebraska from 2002-2008. As Administrator she provided leadership with various community-based and other services. Her experience includes active involvement with various Nebraska organizations.
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Jane Saundercook

Jane Saundercook graduated in Political Science from McMaster University, is an experienced paralegal, and possesses a certification in Alternative Dispute Resolution. Mother of 3, she’s a volunteer with the Durham Autism Society, and a passionate advocate with 10 years’ of research for funding and therapy opportunities for at-risk youth with special needs, with learning disabilities and mental illness. She’s the Founder and President of Horses Help Canada, http://horseshelpcanada.com/, a non-profit organization providing horsemanship-on-the-ground workshops for youth living with autism, Asperger syndrome and attention deficit disorders, or who have experienced trauma. Horses Help Canada is partnering with Wounded Warriors Canada, http://www.woundedwarriors.ca/, to provide the therapeutic benefits of working with horses for veterans and their families who are healing from post-traumatic stress disorder, trauma, and are learning strategies and skills to readjust to their lives.
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Hastings Saunders

Hastings Saunders is an exceptionally bright 9 year old boy with epilepsy. When medication didn't help much his seizures, and the side effects took over his personality, his mother, Sandra Saunders, a special education teacher, looked for alternatives. In April 2010, through the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides, she found Manny. He’s a seizure response dog guide trained by Canada Dog Guides. Since then, says Sandra, Hastings’ seizures have drastically reduced. Because he’s so grateful to the Lions Foundation for this special gift he is doing everything he can to give back to the Foundation. He’s created a movie about his story, which is shared at service-club meetings. He’s also raised over $800 for the Purina Walk for Dog Guides in the hope that other people will be able to have the same opportunities to benefit from seizure response dog guides as he’s done.
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Ralph James Savarese

Ralph James Savarese is the author of ‘Reasonable People: A Memoir of Autism and Adoption’, which Newsweek called "a real life love story and a passionate manifesto for the rights of people with neurological disabilities." His thirteen-year-old son, who types to communicate, wrote the final chapter. Once written off as profoundly retarded, DJ is now 18 and a straight "A" student in an advanced curriculum at the local high school. Savarese is also the co-editor with his wife, Emily, of a special issue of Disability Studies Quarterly entitled ‘Autism and the Concept of Neurodiversity’. In addition to featuring the work of researchers in a range of fields, it also highlights the work of some twenty self-advocates from all along the spectrum. He is currently working on a book entitled ‘A Dispute with Nouns: Autism Poetry and the Sensing Body’. He teaches American literature, creative writing and disability studies at Grinnell College in Iowa.
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Nicole Scheidl

Nicole Scheidl completed her law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University in 1988 and practiced law for a number of years. During those years she also coached Queens’ synchronized swimming team to championship. She completed her Masters in Law at Queen’s University (1999) and then taught Law, Philosophy and History at Hawthorn School for Girls in Toronto. She also served as Lower School Principal at Hawthorn. Moving to Florida in 2005, she developed her business development skills in the IT sector. She was Director of Business Development at Agile Communications and QuickBills. Upon returning to Canada in 2008, she took up the position of Director of Business Development at Prolity Corporation. Leaving her position in high tech, she found herself at a crossroads and being inspired by Dr. Paul Nussbaum’s book, Save Your Brain, in June 2010 she founded Fit Minds Cognitive Health Products Inc. with Paul de Grandpré.
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Donna Schempp

Donna Schempp is the program director at Family Caregiver Alliance. It’s a non-profit organization that helps family caregivers to get respite, and support for their caregiving roles. It serves people with chronic illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease, MS, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke, as well as caregivers of frail elders. Prior to joining it, she worked with Kaiser to increase use of community organizations by Kaiser patients. She was also senior case manager at Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the East Bay. She has experience as a medical social worker in hospice and home care and is involved in San Franciso’s End of Life Network. She is past president of the Board of Directors of Planning for Elders in the Center City in San Francisco and past chair of the ethics committee at Center for Elder Independence in Oakland. Her first career was working with children and families, so she has experience working with clients across the life span. View Guest page

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John Schram

John Schram joined the Board of Directors for We Care Health Services in March 1996 and subsequently assumed the role of President and CEO of in 1999. He has managed a 20-fold growth in the We Care business since 1999 and has served on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Home Care Association since 2001. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Home Care Association in April 2007, and subsequently elected President-elect in November 2010.
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Mary Schulz

Mary Schulz has been the Director, Information, Support Services and Education at the Alzheimer Society of Canada since 2006. She has spent her career in healthcare, providing individual and family counseling to clients facing crises associated with life-limiting illness, chronic disability and cognitive impairment. She has also helped to plan and implement programs and services in settings throughout the health-care continuum. She obtained her Bachelor degree in Social Work from Ryerson University and holds a Masters degree in Social Work from York University. In her current role, Mary, along with her counterparts across provincial Alzheimer Societies, is leading the Society’s Culture Change initiative to foster person-centred care of people with dementia living in long-term care homes. View Guest page

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Lisa Schumph

Lisa Schumph is Program Manager, Salvation Army Lawson Ministries, www.lawsonministries.org, in Hamilton, Ontario. She holds an Honours Degree in Psychology. She manages and coordinates Day Supports and Employment Support. For the Autism Centre, she plans and implements a new service model specifically for adults with autism spectrum disorder. She manages and coordinates the Caledonia Thrift Store, a social enterprise focused on skills training and employment, the Residential Program’s new tenant referrals, and co-ordinate supports for each person and the Supported Independent Living Program which oversees community-based services for people living independently. She manages and coordinates the FRWY Coffee House, which is building a viable social enterprise that supports a community need for a hub in the downtown core, and Community Access to Transportation, a 2-year Pilot Project involving various agencies and local school boards with the goal of sustaining the program. View Guest page

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Jonathan Schwartz

Jonathan Schwartz was President and CEO at Sun Microsystems prior to its acquisition by Oracle. He was also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lighthouse Design, Ltd., a software company platform, ultimately acquired by Sun. He’s one quarter Indian, one quarter Welsh on his mother's side, and one quarter Hungarian, one quarter Russian on his father's side. He holds degrees in mathematics and economics. In 1986, he was nearly killed while riding on the Amtrak Colonial train that crashed in Chase, Maryland. He says the incident had a profound impact on his life. He is now the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of CareZone, https://carezone.com/. He developed CareZone, which launched in February 2012, with Walter Smith an Apple and Microsoft veteran. He says CareZone was started for people like him who must simultaneously care for children and parents but find social networking sites to be inappropriate, and insufficiently targeted toward the act of caregiving.
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Joyce Scott

Joyce Scott is the winner of 2010 national Family Caregiver of the Year Award. She lives in Marysville, Wash., is retired and cares primarily for her husband David. She’s 66 and he’s 68. She suffers from Type-II Diabetes and recently overcame lung cancer. He also suffers from Diabetes. She also cares for her homeless brother Russell, 52. Because of the exceptional care that Joyce provides David and Russell, she was awarded the 2010 Family Caregiver of the Year by Homewatch CareGivers. Her story has been widely featured. She says that she keeps busy and stays positive by participating in her Happy Hatters Club, which she helped create with the women in her neighborhood. The women meet each week and wear funny hats at social events they organize, put on skits and just basically have fun. She credits the group and her family with keeping her spirits up during difficult times. View Guest page

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Paula Spencer Scott

Paula Spencer Scott, http://www.survivingalzheimersbook.com/, is the author of ‘Surviving Alzheimer's: Practical tips and soul-saving wisdom for caregivers’ (2014). She's a contributing editor (and former senior editor) of Caring.com and a fellow of the Met Life Foundation Journalists in Aging program. She’s author or co-author of 11 other books on health and family. Her articles also appear in AARP, WebMD, and HuffPost/50, and she's a former columnist for Woman's Day and Parenting magazines. Four of her close family members, including her father, have had dementia.
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Dr. Nancy Sears

Dr. Nancy Sears is a registered nurse in Ontario Canada. She holds the baccalaureate of Science in Nursing, a Master’s in Public Administration and a PhD in Health Administration from the University of Toronto. Her doctoral studies focused on health service organization and management. Her current research focuses on harm that individuals receiving health care can experience. During her career, she’s been responsible for the planning and delivery of home care services to a mixed urban and rural population, healthcare services in a long-term care facility, and leading the planning for healthcare services for a population of over half a million people. She currently teaches the BScN program in nursing at St. Lawrence College, http://ow.ly/k4H1D. She’s an elected member of the governing council of the College of Nurses of Ontario, and chair of the College’s Discipline Committee. She is involved in research that examines patient safety in home care across Canada.
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Bob Seed

Bob Seed is the lead plaintiff in a class-action bid against the Brantford school for the blind and visually impaired, which he attended from 1954 to 1965, and which is the focus of the class action discussed in this Episode of Family Caregivers Unite!. He’s a professional broadcaster who is General Manager of Thunder Bay Information Radio in Thunder Bay, Ontario. His experience includes Announcer/Operator and Music Librarian, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC Radio, Thunder Bay, and Announcer/Host, All Night Radio Program CJLX Radio, Thunder Bay. He’s an Amateur Radio Operator. His call sign, VE3GIS, was issued in 1965. He has extensive experience with volunteer work including assessment, field placement and fund-raising services. View Guest page

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Dr. Dugald Seely

Dr. Dugald Seely is a naturopathic doctor who serves as the director of research and clinical epidemiology at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, www.ccnm.edu, is an affiliate investigator for the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and is the Executive Director for the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre, www.oicc.ca. He completed his MSc at the University of Toronto and has been very active in medical research and the development of integrative oncology. He’s led a number of clinical trials and projects ranging from specific interventions used by naturopathic doctors to the whole-system of practice that is naturopathic medicine. He strongly believes in the ability of evidence-based medicine to effect positive change in the health-care system that includes complementary medicine. As an educator, researcher, clinician, and frequent speaker at conferences around the world, he is seeking to shift the debate towards a more whole-person approach to care.
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Rosemarie Senisi

Rosemarie Senisi was self-employed before she married another self-employed person. ‘Relentless hours’ is how she describes their life then. On becoming a parent she wanted to be just a mom. She’s now Mom of 4 children, 3 living with neurological conditions. When her youngest, who lives with autism, was 3 months she was diagnosed with cancer. Her mom had just recovered from cancer, so she was tested as a precaution because she always gets what her mom does. Now, every year, she participates in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, 200 km from Toronto to Niagara Falls. She rides to empower her kids, she says, to show them that no matter how difficult a task seems they have at least to try, that they only get to the finish line if they go to the starting line, and that there is nothing they can't accomplish in their lives. Her one wish is that they live their lives. Her kids are her life’s highlights. She wouldn't give up the chaos, fighting, mess, homework, laughs, smiles, hugs, for anything. View Guest page

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Till Seuring

Born and raised in Fulda, Germany, Till Seuring, T.Seuring@uea.ac.uk, holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Bamberg (Germany) in Economics and a Master's degree from the University of Göttingen (Germany) in International Economics. He also studied for several months in Argentina and Mexico. He’s currently working on his PhD at the University of East Anglia in the UK, investigating the economics of diabetes in low- and middle-income countries. He’s particularly interested in how diabetes affects people economically and who it affects most. One of the goals is that the better understanding of the relation between diabetes and its economic burden can lead to better strategies to prevent or reduce the economic burden. Prior to starting as a PhD student he worked at the International Diabetes Federation in Brussels (Belgium) as a health economist. View Guest page

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Errol Shardelow

Errol Shardelow, eshardelow@gmail.com, has been involved in electronics since 1975. He received his Advanced Diploma in Electronics in 1977, and his Diploma in Marketing and Sales in 1991. He is a Bio Feedback therapist, with a Masters in Scenar Technology (Electrical Impulse) from Prof. Alexandra Revenko in Russia, and is also certified by Prof. Revenko as a Trainer in Scenar Therapy. He’s also an Ondamed Therapist trained as in the use of pulsed electromagnetic frequency. He’s held senior management positions in Cisco Systems and was Senior Director for Customer Solutions (Engineering) for Bell Canada. After years of experience in technology he used his knowledge to research modalities and their influence on the human body. He’s worked with different modalities including light and sound frequencies. He owns a resort on Vancouver Island where he treats those seeking his help. He presents on the topic, ‘Electrical Impulse versus Magnetic Impulse and how they influence the body’. View Guest page

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Andy Shaw

Andy Shaw, andyshaw56@gmail.com, a journalist, is Canadian Press Chief at MEDICA, the world’s largest annual medical trade fair. He’s freelance writer for Canadian Healthcare Technology and other trade magazines. He’s been a globe-trotting sports reporter and broadcaster for CBC Radio, Broadcast News (radio), CBC-TV, CTV, TSN, UPI, Canadian Press, Maclean’s Magazine, the Globe and Mail, and other newspapers. He’s been a reporter at six Olympic Games, multiple world championships, summer and winter Paralympics, and the Stoke-Mandeville Games where disabled sport began. His experience includes Vice-President, Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association, Sports director/commentator for Ottawa radio stations CKPM, CBO, CKOY, weekend announcer CJOH-TV, and Vice-President, Travel Media Association of Canada.
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Lucie Shaw

Lucie Shaw and her husband David own and operate Nurse Next Door in Mississauga, Ontario. The idea to start a business came to them during the time that they were looking for someone to take care of David's aging parents. When exploring various options, they came across BC-based Nurse Next Door Home Care services and they realized the company was a perfect fit with their values. They were looking for an opportunity where they could give back to the community by supporting aging parents and their families. At Nurse Next Door, they are able to care for families’ loved ones with care levels ranging from companionship right up to nursing, including end-of-life care. She is excited to be able to bring seniors and their families the peace of mind they need through focused, personalized home care services. “Our talent is caring”, she says, and our goal is to make lives better one visit at a time. www.nursenextdoor.com
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Sara Shearkhani

Sara Shearkhani was a graduate student in economics but had to take a break after her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumour; since then, she has been a family caregiver. She learned to be an advocate for her husband to effectively administrate his treatment. This experience led to her advocacy work for patients and family caregivers. Her article, “An Untold Suffering”, was an attempt to give other family caregivers courage to talk about their problems and feelings. It was published in the Globe and Mail, http://ow.ly/zSI2v. She believes in supporting local family caregivers’ support groups and promoting self-advocacy for them. She is now trying to change her field of study to health policy.
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Tracy Shepherd

Tracy Shepherd is President of the Canadian Chapter of the International Society of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC), which aims to make people aware of the potential that augmentative communication has to change the lives of individuals around the world who are unable to speak. She is also a member of the organizational committee for the Breaking the ICE conference, a national consumer-focused conference for people who use AAC. She’s a speech language pathologist who has practiced clinically in augmentative and alternative communication since 1991. She is a clinician at the Thames Valley Children’s Centre in London, Ontario. She’s also an Education Coordinator at the Centralized Equipment Pool operated by Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto. She co-developed an extensive educational program to train clinicians in Ontario working in the area of AAC. View Guest page

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Dave Siever

Dave Siever graduated in 1978 as an engineering technologist. He later worked in the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Alberta designing diagnostic equipment temporomandibular joint dysfunction. He organized research projects, taught basic physiology and an advanced diagnostics course. He noticed anxiety issues in many patients suffering with temporomandibular joint dysfunction, which prompted him to study biofeedback. In 1984, he designed the Digital Audio-visual Integration Device. Since then, through his company, Mind Alive Inc., he’s researched and refined audio-visual technology specifically for use in relaxation, and treating anxiety, depression, attention deficit disorder, cognitive decline, insomnia and seasonal affective disorder, among other conditions. He also designs cranio-electro-stimulation and biofeedback devices. His products and services are listed at http://www.mindalive.ca/
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Eleanor Silverberg, BA Psych, MSW, RSW

Eleanor Silverberg, BA Psych, MSW, RSW, is a self-employed Counseling and Grief Specialist for Care Providers. After 15+ years in dementia care professionally as a Community Outreach Social Worker and personally as a family caregiver, she focuses on assisting dementia caregivers to strengthen their resiliency and prevent burnout. She provides group counseling and presentations for family caregivers, and conducts on- site and online training seminars to healthcare frontline workers who serve dementia family caregivers. She trains healthcare workers in applying the 3-A Approach, Acknowledge, Assess, Assist (TM), she developed for addressing caregiver grief. She’s observed that the loss and grief experienced by family caregivers impacts their well-being and manner of providing care. Her publication about the 3-A Approach is an educational resource for professionals available on the Canadian Virtual Hospice website. Her website is www.eleanorsilverberg.com View Guest page

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Lynda Simmons

Lynda Simmons is a writer by day, college instructor by night and a late sleeper on weekends. She grew up in Toronto, Canada, reading Greek mythology, bringing home stray cats and making up stories about bodies in the basement. From an early age, her family knew she would either end up as a writer or the old lady with a hundred cats. As luck would have it, she married a man with allergies so writing it was. With two daughters to raise, she and her husband moved into a lovely two-storey mortgage in Burlington, a small city on the water just outside Toronto. While the girls are grown and gone, Lynda and her husband are still there. And yes, there is a cat – a beautiful, if spoiled, Birman. When she’s not writing or teaching, Lynda gives serious thought to using the treadmill in her basement. Fortunately, she’s found that if she waits long enough, something urgent will pop up and save her - like a phone call or an e-mail or a whistling kettle. View Guest page

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Diana Simpson

Diana Simpson graduated from University of Waterloo with an Honours BA in Recreation, Business Option, Cooperative Program. Her career includes Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (Recreation Therapist) in hospital settings, Continuing Care and Rehabilitative Services, working with residents living in the facility or receiving rehabilitation for neurological conditions, musculoskeletal disorders, recent amputations, and respiratory problems. In Rehabilitation, the focus was on assisting clients in getting ready to re-enter the community. She later joined the City of Mississauga as a Recreation Analyst, Seniors Programs, where she led the formation of the Next Step to Active Living Program, a day program for adults with physical disabilities. In 2003, she moved to Facilities and Property Management, City of Mississauga, where she works closely with the Accessibility Advisory Committee, a committee of Council, to coordinate the City’s Accessibility Plan, www.mississauga.ca/accessibility.
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Brad Sinclair

Brad Sinclair serves as Registrar for the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario, http://www.cdho.org/. He has worked in the health sector for more than 27 years. Prior to the College he built HealthForceOntario Marketing and Recruitment Agency for the government. His career highlights include Chief of Staff for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Executive Director of IMG-Ontario, Director of the Ontario Council of Teaching Hospitals and Director of Health Sciences for the Council of Ontario Universities. He has specialized knowledge in academic health sciences and in health human resources policy & planning. He has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a graduate certificate from the Rotman School of Management both from the University of Toronto. In his spare time he’s a creative writer and a musician. He’s married with two children and lives in Toronto.
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Debbie Sirota

Debbie Sirota is a single parent of four daughters. Her daughter Tamara, age 24, lives with schizophrenia. Tamara was diagnosed while in the Remand Centre, following a Protection Order advised by her then psychiatrist who diagnosed Tamara’s psychotic state as "bad personality". She’s experienced Tamara’s almost dying by walking away in 50 below weather without shoes. She’s Tamara's Substitute Decision Maker under the Vulnerable Persons Act for her health and financial affairs. She’s navigated many systems such as Justice, Forensics, Mental Health and Supported Living. She’s studying at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Social Work and she works full-time as a nursing assistant in major hospital’s ER. She sits on the Winnipeg Regional Community Mental Health Advisory Council, Continuity Care Advisory Council, and she’s a volunteer at The Schizophrenia Society and Shilom Mission. She says that she has learned advocacy from the best, and this has changed forever who she is.
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Andrea Slane

Dr. Andrea Slane is an Associate Professor in the Legal Studies Program at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ontario. Her research focuses on law’s engagement with digital technology, including how technologies affect our sense of, and ability to protect, privacy and other rights and associated harms. She has published on a range of Internet-related legal issues, including how Canadian privacy law deals with photographs of a person’s body (whether sexual or not), and what legal principles are or are not engaged where the law allows private businesses to voluntarily share customer and employee information with law enforcement. Dr. Slane holds a PhD in Comparative Literature and a JD in Law, and combines these fields by considering both the doctrinal content of law and how we imagine law to operate. Dr. Slane is also admitted to the bar in Ontario. http://is.gd/1V52gZ
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John Sloan, M.D.

Dr John Sloan designed his innovative family-doctor practice to keep his frail elderly patients out of the hospital. He visits them at home, and collaborates with home care nurses, mental health teams, and others in the community. The practice he founded has now been adopted by the Vancouver Hospital geriatric unit and is expanding. As well as his medical qualifications he holds a degree in English and Philosophy, and a graduate degree in Biology. He works as a senior academic physician in the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia, and has spent most of his 30 years' practice caring for the frail elderly in Vancouver. He is the author of “A Bitter Pill: How the Medical System is Failing the Elderly", published in 2009 by Greystone Books. Also the author of a textbook on geriatrics, he has lectured throughout Canada and in Europe and the United States, and is sought-after as an inspirational speaker on the care of the elderly.
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Colleen Smailes

Colleen Smailes
Colleen first became aware of Lou Gehrig’s disease when her husband Clayton was diagnosed in 2003 at the age of 31. He died in the summer of 2009.
Her project for 2010 is becoming a coordinator for a Walk, a first for Kamloops, BC, her hometown, to raise awareness of the disease and funds for research to determine its cause and to find its cure.
She lives on a small hobby farm with her two sons Nolan (7) and Justin (6). Currently an Elementary Teacher, she holds the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Geography, minor in English and the Bachelor of Education, with a concentration in Early Primary Literacy. In addition to teaching, she coaches volleyball and basketball at the elementary level. She and her sons are active in sports outside of school, including soccer, hockey, swimming and skiing.
She believes that from friendship, rearing of live stock and cultivation of the soil is learned the value of responsibility that is essential in life.
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Noralyn Smiley

Noralyn Smiley is a senior who is family caregiver for her mother. Noralyn was born in Santa Ana California. She lived for two years in Maryland, Inglewood for nine years, Long Beach for one year, and moved to Vancouver in 1973. In 1958 she graduated, with honors, from the University of California at Berkeley. Her subject was Sociology. In 1993, she earned the Masters in Education from the University of British Columbia, her subject was special education. She’s taught pre-school, elementary school, and completed 25 years working with children who have learning disabilities. Her experience includes studying at the Cuernavaca Language School in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and working with the church her husband was pastoring through the issues of the 60’s – racism, justice for farm workers, civil rights, women’s issues, and the Viet Nam war. Her father died in 1994. Her mother moved to Canada in 2001.
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Betty Smith

Betty Smith’s been married to Larry, the star of the movie, for thirty-seven years. She’s family caregiver for Larry. She’s an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of South Dakota and Associate Director of the Farber Center for Civic Leadership. She holds a doctorate in Political Science from the University of Connecticut, and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of New Haven. She’s served as the chief administrative officer for a city in Connecticut, as District Director for former Congressman Bruce A. Morrison, and as Democratic Committee Chair for the Town of Durham, CT. She’s served as Chair of the Clay County Historic Preservation Commission, founder of Leadership Vermillion and as a strategic planning facilitator for many local communities and governments.
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Bob Smith

Bob Smith retired from the Mississauga, Ontario, Canada fire department in 1996. After several months of retirement, he decided to re-enter the work force. It gave his wife some space, he says, which is necessary after retirement. For about 10 years, he worked as a driver for the Toronto Auto Auction in Milton, Ontario. His wife Joan and he were childhood sweethearts who married in 1956. They are the proud parents of three lovely daughters and seven terrific grandchildren. In about 2004, Joan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. As time progressed she became less and less able to care for herself. For the last two years, he’s been her full-time family caregiver.
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Donald Smith

Donald Smith is a native of Prince Edward Island, now a resident of Toronto. He is an inventor, artist and passionate animal lover and country music fan. Born with cerebral palsy and unable to speak in the conventional way, Don has used many means of communication over the years. As a child, his communication was mostly by non-verbal vocalizations, facial expressions and gestures. Later he learned Bliss Symbolics as well as some spelling and word recognition. Now he uses a computerized voice communicator.
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William (Bill) Smith

William (Bill) Smith serves as Managing Director of NSI’s Healthcare practice group. Most recently, he served as Vice President of U.S. Public Affairs and Policy for the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer Inc., where he led the policy, government relations, alliance development, medical advocacy and public affairs team to support the company’s $23 billion U.S. commercial business. Before working for Pfizer, he held various positions throughout government, including Assistant Chief of Staff for two Massachusetts governors. At the federal level, he served as Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Public Affairs for the Office of National Drug Control Policy where he was closely involved in developing the President’s National Drug Control Strategy and communications plan. He also served as a leadership and committee staffer for Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Janet Smylie

Dr. Janet Smylie is a family physician, public health researcher and research scientist. She leads an Aboriginal Research program at the Centre for Research on Inner City Health, at St. Michael’s hospital, in partnership with eighteen First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities and organizations. She’s an Associate Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Her research addresses the health inequities that challenge Indigenous infants, children and their families. For her research she’s received a New Investigator award in Knowledge Translation. She’s practiced and taught family medicine in various urban and rural Aboriginal communities. She’s in part-time clinical practice at Seventh Generation Midwives, Toronto. She’s a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario, with Métis roots in Saskatchewan. View Guest page

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Barbara Snelgrove

Barbara Snelgrove is Director of Education and Support Services with Parkinson Society Canada. She collaborates with her education colleagues across Canada to develop resources and programs for people living with Parkinson disease, and their families. Her current projects include new resources for other Parkinson conditions, developing position statements on various topics such as pesticides, stem cells, and access to medications, creating a Canadian template for the successful UK “Get it on Time Program”, and managing Canada’s National Information and Referral Centre. She sits on Canada’s National Advocacy Committee and represents the Society on working groups such as Canada’s Coalition for Genetic Fairness and the Canadian Institute for Health Research’s Genetics Working Group. She’s a frequent guest speaker at conferences about caregiver support and dementia. She has extensively researched clinical topics and written about these in publications intended for public information.
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Judith Snow

Judith Snow, MA, is a social innovator and an advocate for inclusion communities that welcome the participation of a wide diversity of people. She’s a visual artist and Founding Director of Laser Eagles Art Guild, an organization making creative activity available through personal assistance to artists with diverse ability: www.lasereagles.com. She has a background of 25 years of research design and implementation, most notably working with the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability. There she provided the design for a post-intervention instrument, trained interviewers to perform in inclusive community environments, and participated in analysis and report writing with the National Home of Your Own Alliance, a 23 state technical assistance program funded through the Administration for Developmental Disabilities. She does this work out of a background of being labeled disabled herself. View Guest page

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Tracy Soloninka

Tracy Soloninka is a recognized leader in oncology and palliative care. At Durham Regional Cancer Center she’s the manager of the outpatient palliative care program. She has extensive experience in the United States and Canada in developing hospice/palliative care home delivery programs. She received her undergraduate degree in nursing from Arizona State University and her Master’s Degree in Oncology from the University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Her research focus has been on caregiving at end of life and the challenges facing those individuals who commit to supporting a loved one through the dying process. A strong proponent of the right to die at home, she understands the struggles faced by caregivers that accompany patients on this journey. She has become a vocal advocate for caregiver benefits that would enable family members to dedicate the time required to support the myriad physical, psycho-social and spiritual demands during this unique experience.
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Marni Soupcoff

Marni Soupcoff is the Executive Director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation, a registered charity that defends the constitutional rights and freedoms of Canadians in the courts of law and public opinion. She’s a fourth generation Torontonian, but spent nine years in the United States, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Johns Hopkins University in 1997 and received her law degree from Stanford University in 2000. Before moving back to Toronto, she worked as a lawyer with the Institute for Justice, where she litigated economic liberty and property rights cases. She then went on to spend over a decade as a national newspaper columnist and editor for the National Post and managing editor for blogs at the Huffington Post Canada. Her writing currently appears in the National Post and Regulation magazine. She is also a frequent commentator on national news broadcasts for CTV News Channel and the CBC.
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Valerie Speiran

Valerie Speiran was nominated by family caregivers for her outstanding work as a care coordinator at the Mississauga Halton Community Care Access Centre. She’s described as a strong, supportive, compassionate, professional and educated individual with a tremendous passion for her work. She goes above and beyond in to ensure her patients are happy, safe and comfortable. Her nominator says that “She’s worked tirelessly to make our situation positive and I can’t thank her enough. Words cannot express my gratitude for the help she provided my family. Val is our hero.” View Guest page

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Des Spence

Des Spence is a full-time family physician in Scotland. He’s written for the British Medical Journal for 7 years among other publications. He’s intent on challenging traditional medical conventions because he believes that medicine has the capacity to do good and also harm. He holds that the western world and America in particular are suffering from the effects of too much medicine, too much surgery, and over-diagnosis of many cancers and mental health conditions, effects often resulting from the pervasive financial interests of ‘big pharma’ and private medicine. Today everyone is a patient, he says, a perspective promoted by thoughtless health promotion programs, charities, and direct-to-consumer advertising, which have established the health anxiety culture that is consuming our sense of well-being. Less medicine is more medicine, he says, because physicians have a duty not only to treat the sick but also to protect the well: much of modern medicine is bad medicine. View Guest page

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Marilyn Spencer

Marilyn Spencer graduated with an MBA in marketing in 1974. After working for fortune 500 companies, she started her own corporate communications firm, The Concept Werks, specializing in change management and employee communications. She considers herself to be an accidental caregiver. After her successful career in marketing and corporate communications, she, a childless only child, found herself the caregiver for her mother who is enduring the ravages of Alzheimer’s. With no experience in looking after anyone or anything dependent, without ever having to be involved in accessing community support services, of any kind, she was thrown into the caregiver’s world. Eleven years after realizing that something was not quite right with mother, the challenge continues. Her recent task was to find a dentist experienced with 91 year old Alzheimer’s sufferers. While she has never managed to manage the problem, the journey has been signposted with great people and some poignant experiences. View Guest page

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Janet Sperling

Janet Sperling was trained as an entomologist, which is when she first learned about Lyme disease. After completing an MSc on the physiology of beetles, she took time off to raise 4 boys. When the oldest in 2004 fell desperately ill at the age of 15, she was faced with the prospect of caring for a severely ill teenager as well as his three younger brothers. After nine months with no clear diagnosis, she and her husband decided to explore the possibility of Lyme disease. The treatment that followed the diagnosis allowed their son to return to his former good health. Intrigued by the challenges and complexity of the diagnosis, she now volunteers as a board member for the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation.
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Jan Spilman, MEd

Jan Spilman, MEd, is a Registered Clinical Counsellor, Compassion Fatigue Specialist, and Mental Health Educator with a passion for helping people-who-help-people to live well with the stress of their personal and professional caregiving. She specializes in designing and delivering renewing, interactive, wellness-oriented workshops on Compassion Fatigue, Chronic Sorrow, Double-duty Caregiving, Personal and Professional Wellness, and the Enneagram to groups of family caregivers, professionals, and volunteers across the country, www.caregiverwellness.ca. Her professional career includes 10 years as an acute and critical care nurse and nurse-manager, and 19 years as a trauma therapist in private practice. For 7 years she was also family caregiver for her husband until he died from heart failure in 2004. Since then, she’s focused upon the work she loves best, teaching caregivers practical, realistic ways of healing their trauma and loss and improving the quality of their lives.
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Ramesh Srinivasan

Ramesh Srinivasan is Sr. Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for the MedicAlert Foundation, which he joined in 2002. With his more than 20 years of strategic marketing and business development experience, he evangelizes MedicAlert’s emergency-oriented services. He led MedicAlert's initiative to enhance safety services for clinical trials. With the Alzheimer’s Association, he launched the ‘MedicAlert + Safe Return’, a 24-hour nationwide emergency service Alzheimer’s or dementia patients who wander or have a medical emergency. He’s delivered presentations at high-profile national conferences including the National Managed Healthcare Congress, Center for Aging Services and Technology, Department of Commerce, Department of Health and Human Services, and at Annual White House Conferences. He contributed to the guidance document for the protection of at-risk populations during an influenza pandemic sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Carol Stanley

Carol Stanley was born in England on July 7, 1944. At the age of 16 she took up work in shorthand and typing at the Bank of America, in London, England. At 18 she left home and travelled on a student work visa to Germany where she spent the next year in work that included housekeeper in a small village. During this time she learned German. Then she immigrated to Canada. She travelled steerage on the Empress of Canada where she met her future husband. They married in Cleveland, Ohio. She holds dual Canadian/American citizenship. Both their children are American citizens. In 1991 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had surgery and radiation therapy. Then she sent herself to college, where she graduated with a diploma in Recreation and Leisure. Her new career took her into health care, working mainly in geriatrics. She is now family caregiver for her 92-year-old father. During WW II he was a sergeant in the air force while her mother worked in factories to help the war effort.
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Carol Stanley

Carol Stanley was the Family Caregiver for the last five years of her father’s life. She discovered that she had to learn to navigate herself and her father through home and community care, doctors’ appointments, transportation, medications, and specialist appointments. It all took time, consumed energy, and cost her money. In the beginning she tried hard to stay positive by writing. She wrote ‘Am I Just Spam?’ a humorous appeal for a day of action for family caregivers. Nothing happened until she’d gained enough confidence to put on the first ever, and only, Family Caregiver Day in Powell River, British Columbia, Canada. Her father was a WWII RAF Bomber Command Engineer who saw many of his young friends lost or grievously injured in the bomber raids. After a long and courageous battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, dementia, and bladder cancer he decided at age 95 it was time to go. He stopped eating. He died peacefully on December 12, 2014.
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Malcolm Stanley

Malcolm Stanley is a past member of the executive of the Ontario Autism Coalition, which he joined after his oldest daughter, Megan, was diagnosed with autism, in 2006. In 2008, he moved with his family to Pennsylvania, where he now lives and works.He can be contacted via twitter / skype: amstanley, and his blog is at http://soaringhorse.blogspot.com, or by email: a.malcolm.stanley@gmail.com
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Ann Stewart

Ann Stewart is a social worker with a Bachelor of Science degree from Montana State University. After practicing in social work with the state of Montana, she moved to Alberta. For the past twenty years, she’s been executive director/client services serving the stakeholders of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Lethbridge & District Chapter. She’s developed programming according to members’ needs and requests. The programs include support groups for persons and young adults with multiple sclerosis, and in connection with chronic cerebro-spinal venous insufficiency. The programs include support for caregivers, friendly visiting to persons with multiple sclerosis in long-term care, and active living for persons with disabilities. She’s currently developing a program for teens with multiple sclerosis. Since joining the Multiple Sclerosis Society, multiple sclerosis has entered her personal life, touching members of her extended family.
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Krishna Stone

Krishna Stone is Assistant Director of Community Relations in the Communications Department at Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), based in New York. In 2003, she joined the Communications Department. Her responsibilities include managing media inquiries, coordinating site visits to GMHC, and organizing community events. She has extensive experience working with community-based organizations, faith communities, schools, hospitals and corporations. She’s an ordained minister of a non-denominational/non-traditional faith community, Sanctuary of the Beloved. She works in creating dialogue among faith communities, GMHC and other AIDS service organizations about the critical issues of the epidemic, including race, gender and sexual identities, substance use, religions and spiritualities. For the past 10 years, she’s been the volunteer announcer at the end of Heritage of Pride’s annual LGBT Pride March. She’s the proud mother of a righteous and beautiful 15-year-old daughter named Parade.
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J. Dietrich “Diet” Stroeh

J. Dietrich “Diet” Stroeh’s beloved wife, Margaret, was stricken with cancer. He became her family caregiver, walking the road of anguish and fear. He describes the walk in ‘Three Months: A Caretakers Journey from Heartbreak to Hope’, www.threemonthsbook.com. He shares the journey with his readers, a journey which involved comforting his dying wife, navigating the medical system, and preserving his own health and functioning. An engineer by trade, he founded Stuber-Stroeh Associates, a civil engineering firm that grew into CSW/Stuber-Stroeh Engineering Group in Novato California, with offices in Sonoma County and Sacramento. He managed the Marin Municipal Water District in the midst of one of the worst droughts on record. He’s a Director of the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District and he sits on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Marin. He’s active in the community and been a member of many state wide and national boards.
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JC Sulzenko

JC Sulzenko, ”JC”, known for her work with young or emerging writers, received the Ottawa Public Library’s Order of Friendship in 2010 for outstanding volunteer service as a judge in the annual Awesome Author's contest and as co-editor of the anthologies of winning entries. Her one-act play for children, "What my grandma means to say", pictures Alzheimer’s disease. It’s used by The Alzheimer Society of Ottawa, among others, in outreach programs for young people. The storybook adapted from the play launched at the Ottawa International Writers Festival. It’s available from General Store Publishing House (www.gsph.com). Her poetry and prose have been heard and published in national and local media and on-line. Various chapbooks and anthologies carry her poems. Her books for children, featured at the Ottawa International Writers Festival and at Kid Lit Galas, "Fat poems Tall poems Long poems Small" and "Boot Crazy." More on JC's work: www.jcsulzenko.com. Photo credit: Lois Siegel.
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Dr. Chris Summerville

Dr. Chris Summerville is one of the eleven non-government directors of the Mental Health Commission of Canada appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. As a family member and a recipient of psychiatric services, he has been the executive director of the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society since 1995 and is also the CEO of the Schizophrenia Society of Canada, Schizophrenia Society of Canada

As a provincial and national leader and advocate, he serves on numerous boards and committees including The Mood Disorders Society of Canada, The National Network on Mental Health, The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, and several ethics committees. With an earned doctorate, he is certified with the International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services as a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Practitioner and as an ASIST Suicide Intervention Trainer with Living Works.

He lives in Steinbach, Manitoba. He sees mental illness as an issue not only in health, but also in social justice.
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Dr. Chris Summerville

Dr. Chris Summerville is CEO of the Schizophrenia Society of Canada, www.schizophrenia.ca, and Executive Director of the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society. He serves on numerous boards and committees. With an earned doctorate, he is certified with the International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services as a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Practitioner and as an Intervention Trainer with Living Works. As a family member and a recipient of psychiatric services, he sees mental illness as an issue in social justice as well as health.
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Melanie Taddeo

Melanie Taddeo is a passionate advocate who, at the age of 21, suffered a massive stroke that left her completely paralyzed on her left side and legally blind. After years of therapy she was able to regain her independence, and go on to become the first legally blind teacher to graduate in Ontario, as a certified special education teacher. She has 10 years’ experience in program development, fundraising, community outreach, volunteer management, and public speaking. She founded Connect4Life, www.connect4life.ca, because of her personal experience of the lack of programs that promote independence for people with disabilities. She has made it her goal to help empower others to achieve their dreams despite the challenges they face. View Guest page

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Dr. Karen Talmadge

Dr. Karen Talmadge has been an award-winning volunteer leader for the American Diabetes Association since 1993. She is inspired by her 23-year-old daughter who has lived with type 1 diabetes for 21 years. She is currently 2013 Chair of the Board of the Association. She received her PhD from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, and her A.B. from Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA. She is an entrepreneur and executive in the biomedical industry. She is currently President of Nabu Health Care Consulting, Chair of the Board of Directors of Gynesonics, and serves on the Boards of Directors of Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, Velocity Pharmaceutical Development and Venous Health Systems. She has a long history of executive and research positions in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. For example, she joined Medtronic Spinal and Biologics, Sunnyvale, CA., in 2007 when it acquired Kyphon Inc., a minimally-invasive spine company she co-founded and funded. View Guest page

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Caroline Tapp-McDougall

Caroline Tapp-McDougall is the publisher and editor of ‘Caregiver Solutions’ magazine, a Canadian publication dedicated to the wellness of seniors and their caregivers and family. She has extensive experience in the areas of health, employee wellness and rehabilitation, and is the print and online editor of a number of medical journals. She’s been leading workshops and speaking to employers, caregivers and healthcare professionals from coast to coast for over 10 years. She recently founded ‘Canada Cares’, www.canadacares.org, an organization that celebrates, says thank you, and supports family and professional caregivers. View Guest page

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Christine Taylor

Christine Taylor has dedicated her education and career to bettering the lives of seniors. She’s the founder and President of Nursing Home Ratings Inc., a company which runs a national website (http://www.nursinghomeratings.ca/) that offers educational advice, information, links, blogs, and ratings that inform and educate the public. Because family members know the nursing homes best, all the website ratings and reviews are from them. With the ratings process, she assists family members looking to place their loved one in a nursing home. She’s also the founder of Aging Solutions Inc., a company which helps caregivers in many areas of eldercare. To help seniors to stay in their own homes as long as possible, she provides home safety inspections for seniors. For seniors outside the Greater Toronto Area, she provides telephone consultations which include consultations for family caregivers caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease.
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Lisa Taylor

Lisa Taylor is the Associate Registrar for College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario. The College regulates the practice of dental hygiene in Ontario and is committed to ensuring that the public benefits from the highest standards of excellence in practice by the 12 thousand dental hygienists it regulates. She holds a diploma in Dental Hygiene from Algonquin College, a Bachelor of Arts (Law and Business) from Carleton University and a Bachelor of Education (Adult) from Brock University and a Master of Education (Health Professional Education) at the University of Toronto. She practiced clinically as a dental hygienist for 20 years before joining the College in 2005 as Practice Advisor. She is an advocate for oral health and was the 2011 recipient of the Peacock Award for leadership and excellence in championing a bold, creative and impactful strategic communications initiative focused on the link between oral health and overall health. View Guest page

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Mark Telego

Mark Telego was raised in Grand Rapids, MI. He’s of Polish decent, both Grandparents having migrated from Poland in the early 1900's. His parents married in 1941. His mother worked to help put his father through Medical School. His father died when Mark was 15. Mark graduated from Western Michigan University with the BBA degree. He’s now CEO of Blue Diamond International, Inc., and President of Marco Partners, Ltd. P.C., Grand Rapids, MI. His experience of family caregiving began after his father died. From 2005 his experience included consultation with the various physicians treating his mother. She’d lived with insulin dependent diabetes for 45 years, and with what for 9 years seemed to be Alzheimer's disease. She lived with Mark for 10 years and in hospice care for her last year. Following her death, he developed his story of his journey during the last 9 months of his mother's life. He published his website, http://www.eyes-n-ears.net, in Dec 2013, 14 months after her death.
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Thubten Tengye

Thubten Tengye has been a practicing Buddhist for nearly 10 years. He follows the Gelug-pa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the lineage headed by His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. He took refuge vows with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Nepal in 2005. He has been on month long meditation retreats in Kathmandu, Nepal, as well as Bodhgaya, India, the site where the Buddha is said to have reached Enlightenment, and Dharamsala India, the location of the Dalai Lama's government in exile. He also attended the 10-day Kalachakra initiation given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Washington, D.C., in July 2011. He has a strong interest in Buddhist philosophy and meditation practice. He is particularly interested in the parallels between Buddhist and Western philosophy. He maintains a daily meditation practice and provides meditation instruction and advice to others.
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Linda Teri

Dr. Linda Teri is a Member of the Medical & Scientific Advisory Council of the Alzheimer’s Association. She’s Professor of Psychosocial & Community Health at the University of Washington. She holds the PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Vermont in Burlington. She won the Alzheimer’s Association Pioneer Award for her work in psychosocial treatments to reduce behavioral problems in persons with dementia. She received the Gerontological Society of America’s most prestigious Lawton Award for a significant contribution in gerontology that led to innovation in gerontological treatment. She was a key researcher in several studies sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Alzheimer’s Association, among others. She founded the University of Washington’s School of Nursing’s deTornyay Center for Healthy Aging and served for five years as the Center’s Director. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Gerontological Society of America.
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Jim Tessman

Jim Tessman is a managing partner and the marketing specialist at Health Wellness Depot North America, www.healthwellnessdepot.com, based on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. With a keen eye on the future of healthcare and the changes that are quickly developing in user demands and regulations, he’s moving Health Wellness Depot into a strong position to make new types of products available in North America. Pain management is the company's focus, as it can be so devastating to the one suffering as well as the entire family. He’s collaborated with his business partner, Errol Shardelow, for nearly 7 years. The product he’s most excited about right now is PetPulse, a ‘fantastic’ item out of the UK that reduces pain and helps the causes of the pain heal more quickly. It’s non-toxic, non-pharmaceutical and totally safe. At this time, it is only available for pets in North America. He resides in sunny Courtenay, BC with his wife Victoria and their nearly two year old daughter Rowan. View Guest page

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Emile Therien

Emile Therien and his wife Beth are passionate spokespersons on organ and tissue donation. Retired in July 2006 after 18 years as President of the Canada Safety Council, he’s currently President of ‘Progress Intelligently Planned’, a small enterprise for the non-profit sector, small companies and governments. He continues to be a widely respected and much sought-after spokesperson on matters of public health and safety. Public health and safety has been his mission throughout his career and in his private life. His community participation is driven by a concern for effective public safety measures, a humane and compassionate criminal justice system, and the crucial need to increase organ donation. As a volunteer, he serves numerous organizations such as the Trillium Gift of Life Network, the Canadian Blood Services (Organs & Tissues division), the Kidney Foundation of Canada (Ottawa Chapter), and the Church Council on Justice and Corrections, and the Social Justice Network. View Guest page

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Lynne Thibodeau

Lynne Thibodeau is a mother, wife, and advocate for persons with autism. She is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst and is a parent co-founder and the Executive and Clinical Director of Spectrum Intervention Group, a centre in Ottawa, Ontario. Spectrum, http://spectrumig.com/, is a registered charity that delivers applied behaviour analysis services to persons with autism ages 2 to 21. She has been working with persons with autism for over 16 years supervising home-based and centre-based programs providing clinical supervision, staff training, and consultative services. She has created, developed, and presented numerous training workshops to parents, agencies, school boards and other professionals on various topics related to autism and applied behaviour analysis.
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Dr. Pamella Thomas

Dr. Pamella Thomas is Chief Medical Officer and Executive Director of the Institute for Health and Productivity Management’s WorkPlace Center for the Working Caregiver, http://is.gd/d5go2D. She’s Adjunct Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rollins School of Public health, Emory University. She’s former Director of Wellness and Health Promotion at Lockheed Martin Corporation. She’s also former Director of Wellness and Health Promotion and Medical Director for LM Aeronautics, where she supervised medical services to over 7,000 employees. In 2002, her duties expanded to include Health and Productivity Management as well as Disease Prevention for over 28,000 employees located in Georgia, Texas, California and elsewhere. She’s served as Chair of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency Program Advisory Board. She is a preceptor for resident practicum and has trained residents from various occupational medicine programs including Harvard and Oklahoma.
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Norine Thomason

Norine Thomason has been caregiver to her husband Bill since he was diagnosed in 1969 with multiple sclerosis, which progressed significantly over time. They are very supportive of each other. She says that the family has worked around the challenges of MS and tried to carry on as normally as possible, although caring proved difficult at times. The breadwinner in the family, she worked as an elementary school administrative assistant until she retired several years ago. Her workplace offered her the flexibility to attend to him when needed. She realized that she couldn’t advance her career because she needed to be able to go home to him at a moment’s notice. She raised two children and acted as both mother and father at times. The family faced financial dilemmas, such as paying for the children’s university education, as well as home renovations and vehicle modifications for him to live as comfortable as possible. She is an active volunteer at the MS Society, http://mssociety.ca/en/.
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Craig Thompson

Craig Thompson is a freelance digital media producer specializing in the development of online support tools for the healthcare sector. He is also caregiver to a sibling diagnosed with lymphoma and support coordinator for a friend diagnosed with breast cancer. As part of his professional work, he is the executive producer of SharingStrength.ca, a Canadian online resource and support community for women and caregivers affected by breast cancer. He has 25 years’ experience in marketing, communications and information technology. As a professional engineer and certified mediator, he brings a unique perspective to the field of online support that uses technology as a virtual bridge to establish relationships and create experiences between people. He is Board Vice-chair at Progress Place Community Centre responsible for resource development and community outreach. Progress Place is a recovery centre and clubhouse in downtown Toronto for people with serious and persistent mental illness.
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Dan Thompson

Dan Thompson’s life altered in 1980 following a car accident which left him with quadriplegia. He founded the London & District Sports Association, played wheelchair rugby, and coached the Ontario Wheelchair Rugby Team, Canadian Championship winner. He became Disabilities Initiative Job Broker for the Ontario Government. He co-founded Kolvox Co., developer of voice recognition software for disabled workers. In 1996 he became a Registered Rehabilitation Professional; in 2006, a Registered Vocational Professional. In 2008, he graduated as a Life Care Planner with highest honours from Capitol University’s Law School's Certification Program. With his own company, DeeGee Rehabilitation Technologies Ltd, www.deegeerehab.com, operating across North America, he develops Life Care Plans, Vocational Reports, Case Management Services, Rehabilitation Plans and Housing relating to burns, amputations, brain injuries, injuries, spinal cord and other orthopedic injuries, and congenital disabilities.
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Donna Thompson

Donna Thompson began her career as an actor, director and teacher. She started her second career as a disability activist, author, consultant and writer in 1988, when her son Nicholas was born with severe disabilities. She authored "The Four Walls of My Freedom: Lessons I've Learned From a Life of Caregiving" (House of Anansi Press, 2014). A frequent keynote speaker at disability and caregiving conferences, she blogs regularly on her website, "The Caregivers' Living Room", www.donnathomson.com. She teaches family caregivers best practice advocacy skills in her workshop "How to Know What You Want and Get What You Need". She is a co-founder of Lifetime Networks Ottawa, an affiliate of Planned Lifetime Advocacy Networks (PLAN) in Vancouver. She’s a board director representing family caregivers at NeuroDevNet, a Canadian Centre of Excellence. She’s married to James Wright, former Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. She and Jim have two children, Nicholas and Natalie.
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Susan Thouin

Dr. Susan Thouin completed her undergraduate degree in biochemistry at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and then graduated, as a physician, with honours from the University of Toronto medical school. She also completed her residency in family medicine at the University of Toronto and received a fellowship in emergency medicine. She is currently working as an emergency medicine physician in the greater Toronto area and enjoys teaching medical students and residents at the University of Toronto. She’s an owner of MD Care Connect.
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Glyn Townson

Glyn Townson is Chair, BC Persons With AIDS Society. He’s been a member of the Society since 1987. He’s served on the Board of Directors since 2003. Before being elected Chair, he served three previous terms on the Executive Committee as Vice Chair. He is a regular writer and contributor to the Society’s bi-monthly magazine, Living +. His involvement in the HIV/AIDS movement extends far beyond the Society: he is an active participant in several community working groups and committees throughout Canada. He has been living with HIV since the early 1980s and continues to be a strong community activist for a variety of issues facing those living with HIV and other disabilities. View Guest page

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David A. Travland

David A. Travland holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Iowa with a clinical internship at Yale University. He served as Assistant Professor of Psychology at Wake Forest University in the late 1960s. He operated his private clinical practice in North Carolina for thirty years in addition to serving as an organizational development management consultant for dozens of companies throughout the nation. Much of his consulting took the form of sales training, management training and personnel selection using personality tests. He’s a former caregiver and Executive Director of the Caregiver Survival Institute, Inc., a non-profit social services agency. He is co-author, along with his wife Rhonda, of the award-winning book, ‘THE TOUGH & TENDER CAREGIVER, A Handbook for the Well Spouse’, as well as numerous caregiver articles in national magazines. He will be a psychology instructor at the University of Phoenix this spring.
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Dr. Lori Triano-Antidormi

Dr. Lori Triano-Antidormi is a Registered Psychologist in Ontario who obtained her PhD from York University in 1998. She’s currently in private practice in Hamilton, Ontario, specializing in psychological assessment and treatment of adults with various clinical conditions including grief and trauma in individuals who have been impacted by a violent crime, a traumatic incident, and/or who have experienced significant loss. She is currently the Professional Consultant to Bereaved Families of Ontario, Hamilton-Burlington Chapter. She has given many invited presentations on the issues of grief and trauma. She recently appeared as a witness before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights opposing Bill C-54, the NCR Reform Act. For her personal and professional advocacy in promoting social justice for those living with mental illness, she was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award presented by the Schizophrenia Society of Canada, 2013. View Guest page

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Johanna Trimble

Johanna Trimble, http://www.isyourmomondrugs.com, is a passionate patient advocate and a World Health Organization Patient Safety Champion. She is on the steering committee of the BC Patient Voices Network and belongs to Patients for Patient Safety Canada. She is a public member of the Patient Safety Advisory Committee, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. In 2010 she won a “best poster” award at an international conference for her poster: “Is Your Mom on Drugs?” about the overmedication of her mother-in-law. She presented a plenary talk on overmedication at the 2011 Canadian Cochrane Symposium. She also champions the improvement of home and community care to end the reliance on hospital and residential care, often neither the choice nor the optimal care setting for the frail elderly. She is a member of the provincial Optimal Prescribing Update and Support team and the Polypharmacy Working Group. These teams develop continuing education for doctors in BC on safe prescribing practices. View Guest page

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Eric Tripp-McKay

Eric Tripp-McKay has worked in the community mental health sector for almost 25 years. During this time he discovered that his greatest insight has come from listening to the stories people share about their experiences in coping with mental illness. He has been happy to witness many improvements with the mental health system during his years of involvement. He’s been the Executive Director of Peace Ranch since 2003. Peace Ranch, http://www.peaceranch.com/, is a community mental health organization located in Caledon, Ontario, Canada, which provides supportive housing and rehabilitative programs for people who have serious mental illness. He remains committed to supporting the many innovative programs and services that help define Peace Ranch as the place of possibilities. View Guest page

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Felicia Valo

Felicia Valo is a member of the Board of Directors of the ALS Society of Canada. She also chairs the Advocacy Committee of ALS Canada. Her late husband, Sidney Valo, battled ALS for 3 1/2 years before succumbing to the disease in December 2008. She hopes to continue her husband's legacy of building public awareness of ALS and its impact on families living with ALS. She is also passionate about sharing their harrowing journey living with ALS and her experience as a caregiver for her husband. View Guest page

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Nicky VanValkenburgh

Nicky VanValkenburgh is the author of ‘Train Your Brain, Transform Your Life: Conquer Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in 60 Days, Without Ritalin.’ It was selected as “Best Self Improvement Book of 2011” by the Mom’s Choice Awards in Chesapeake, Virginia. It also was a finalist in the Reader’s Favorite Awards and USA Today Book Awards. She is a motivational writer with 20 years’ experience writing for newspapers and magazines. She has a Master's degree in Journalism from Regent University, and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Eastern University. She is also a contributing writer for Upstate Parent, Low Country Parent and Palmetto Parent magazines, which are published in South Carolina, with a circulation of a quarter million people. She is also the Director of http://www.TrainYourBrainTransformYourLife.com/ which spotlights her book and 60-day brain training program for ADHD.
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Louise Vetter

Louise Vetter is the Chief Executive Officer of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, http://www.hdsa.org/, the largest public not-for-profit organization devoted to fighting Huntington’s disease. Since joining the Society in 2009, she has led the expansion of the its reach with new programs to strengthen support for the Huntington’s disease community, to advocate for better access to care for those affected by the disease, to improve physician understanding of HD, and to support research to bring new treatments to Huntington’s disease families. She serves as Secretary of the International Huntington’s Association and is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Brain Coalition. She is an active member of the National Health Council. View Guest page

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Thelma Vincent

Thelma Vincent, advocate and educator, is President of Alberta’s Fetal Alcohol Support Society, http://www.fassalberta.ca/contact.php, a parent-driven nonprofit organization for persons and families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Born in a ‘little log cabin’ in 1936 on a farm, the eldest of 7 siblings, she is the single mother of two children, now successful adults, with a successful granddaughter. While Thelma lived in the North West Territories, she adopted two 5-yr old Inuit boys who were subsequently diagnosed with fetal alcohol damage. One of them was severely affected by mental health problems. Finding little understanding of this disability she began searching for information and methods of dealing with the behaviors resulting from it. Her search continues. She continues to be hampered by the lack of information, insufficient incorporation of new research and lack of funding for services and supports, which she finds barely exist in forms in which these are needed.
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Dr. Sarah Y. Vinson

Dr. Sarah Y. Vinson, www.drsarahvinson.com, is a child & adolescent, adult and forensic psychiatrist based in Atlanta, GA. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Morehouse School of Medicine and Adjunct Faculty of Child & Adolescent and Forensic Psychiatry at Emory University. She is the founder and editor of the culturally-tailored psycho-educational website BlackMentalHealthNet.com. She has worked in a wide variety of mental health treatment settings. She currently serves as the Trustee at Large and Advocacy Liaison for the Georgia Council on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She has been a speaker at national conferences including the American Psychiatric Association Annual (APA) Meeting, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Annual Meeting and the Black Psychiatrist of America transcultural conference. She has received numerous awards from her medical school, the APA and AACAP in recognition of her service and leadership. View Guest page

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Dr. Alice Virani

Dr. Alice Virani specializes in the social, ethical and cultural implications of new genomic technologies. A genetic counselor by training, she also holds a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University, a Masters in Human Sciences from Oxford University and a PhD research from the University of British Columbia in medical genetics and applied ethics. She currently serves as a clinical ethicist for the Provincial Health Service Authority of BC. She also has considerable experience in research ethics and procedures, and has served as the ethicist on various Research Ethics Boards since 2008. She provides education and training in ethics, and teaches a graduate seminar in ethics and genetics, among other ethics-related courses at UBC. In addition to her clinical and teaching roles, she maintains a consulting practice and has provided consulting services for provincial and national organizations such as Health Canada and the Canadian Institute of Health Research.
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Poonam Virdi

Poonam Virdi has taken complete family caregiving responsibility for her father since November 2012. During this time his anxiety and dementia symptoms have worsened, and he’s experienced other health challenges. Throughout she’s assisted him with all physical tasks including bathing, changing and feeding. She’s been a pillar of strength for him, despite her own health concerns. She supports him with the most sincere dedication and wants always to do that for him. View Guest page

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Kamalesh Visavadia

Kamalesh Visavadia has 30 years’ experience in the Human Services field in 2 continents, first in England as summer camp counsellor with a non-profit agency. He later became a Manager at Leicester City Council. In 2000 he moved to Canada. He was appointed Health Promotion Officer with the Region of Peel, where he advanced to Human Services Department Manager. He then became Executive Director of a community mental health agency in Toronto. He’s currently the Director (A) of Senior Services at India Rainbow Community Services of Peel, www.indiarainbow.org, a multi-service agency providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services to the Peel immigrant community, enabling integration and supporting settlement, social services, health and educational needs. He’s a creative leader focused on new methods of service delivery that improve the client experience. He’s an effective consensus builder of partnerships and strategic alliances among health, community and government sectors.
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Frank Viti

Frank Viti is President and CEO, Autism Speaks Canada, http://www.autismspeaks.ca, a position to which he was named in November 2012. His key responsibilities include strategic planning, program innovation, marketing, corporate partnership development and establishing new fundraising initiatives. He’s been a key leader in North America’s non-profit and governmental sectors for over two decades. He’s worked within healthcare, social services and environmental agencies. His experience includes President and CEO for Merit Ontario, President and CEO for Asthma Society of Ontario and Vice President, Revenue for Ducks Unlimited. He has also held management positions with the Canadian Cancer Society and the Lung Association. He has also worked in all three levels of government.
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Micheal Vonn

Michael Vonn is a lawyer and the Policy Director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, https://bccla.org/. She’s been an adjunct professor in the faculty of law at the University of British Columbia. She’s also been an adjunct professor at the University’s School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, where she teaches information ethics and intellectual freedom. She’s a regular guest instructor for the University’s College of Health Disciplines Interdisciplinary Elective in HIV/AIDS care. She’s a frequent speaker on a variety of civil liberties topics including privacy, national security, patient rights, policing, surveillance and free speech. And she’s a former board member of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and an advisory board member of Privacy International. View Guest page

Sherie Vukelic

Sherie Vukelic is 28. Born in Toronto, she was raised in a loving, close-knit family. She has a younger brother and two younger sisters. One is 9, adopted from China by Sherie’s parents, who are originally from Croatia. Sherie’s been with her fiancé John Sheldrake for 6 years. They have a rainbow baby, Brandon, now 3, born two months early. He’s her second pregnancy. Her first pregnancy with triplets lost one baby to miscarriage. On May 1st 2010, a day before her 25th birthday, the pregnancy ended with the loss of the other two babies, who died on her chest wrapped in a towel ten times too big for their little bodies. “It was horrible to lose the babies but with the help and love of my family and friends I found the courage to try again”, she says, “and now I’ve found a wonderful way, ‘Forever Loved Angel Gowns’, http://foreverlovedangelgowns.com/, to honor my lost babies by making and donating Angel Gowns that will fit those tiny babies who will not be going home to their families”.
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Glynnis Walker

Glynnis Walker is a radio talk show host and the best-selling author of eight books. Her radio talk show most recently aired on WAIT, WGN and WLS in Chicago. Before moving to Chicago her show aired on major stations such as KFI in Los Angeles, KOGO and KSDO in San Diego, and KLIF in Dallas. She was also the resident social commentator on the daily television program, “Cherington” in Toronto, Canada for five years. She’s appeared on television shows such as Oprah, Good Morning America, and Canada AM. She’s been featured in articles in People Magazine, USA Today, The New York Daily News, The Boston Globe, and The New York Times, among others. She holds the BA and MBA degrees and a PhD in Psychology. And she’s spent much of her life as a family caregiver.
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Glynnis Walker

Glynnis Walker, glynniswalker@hotmail.com, is the best-selling author of eight books, including “Elder Fraud, Identity Theft: One Family’s Fight for Justice”. It’s based on her experience as a long distance-caregiver for her mother, who had Alzheimer's disease. Even though she lived in an assisted living facility, her mother was nonetheless a victim of fraud and ended up penniless. Glynnis spent much of her life looking after other people - husband, step-children, children, parents. This is a service, she says, that almost always falls to women and for the most part is unpaid and unrecognized. She has been a radio talk host and investigative producer for the past twelve years. At KFI am 640, the number-one US talk radio station, her show covered many breaking stories. Her radio talk show most recently aired on WAIT, WGN and WLS in Chicago. She holds the BA Hon Psychology/English, Queen’s University, MBA, Marketing, York University, and PhD, Psychology, Pacific Western University.
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Kathy Walker

Kathy Walker has a Masters in Social Work, is a registered social worker, and worked as a mental health case manager for 15 years. She’s taught social service students at the Community College level. She’s currently a Director and Secretary of the board of a nonprofit agency newly formed to develop supportive housing for people with serious mental illnesses. It was begun by family caregivers who feel isolated within the current mental health system. Recently, she’s trained as a group facilitator of the Strengthening Families Together Program for the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario. She’ll be facilitating family psycho-educational groups in her community. She’s a single parent and mother of a son with schizoaffective disorder. Even though she is a social worker, she has experienced difficulties communicating with service providers who diminish her input regarding her son’s care. She is using her maiden name to protect her son’s identity. View Guest page

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Dr. Helen Wallace

Dr. Helen Wallace is Director of GeneWatch UK, www.genewatch.org, a not-for-profit organisation which aims to ensure that genetic technologies are used in the public interest. She has 20 years’ experience of campaigning on science and policy issues, having previously worked as a scientist and mathematician. She has published widely on the role of genetic technologies in healthcare and the implications of DNA testing for health and privacy. She is actively engaged in debates about the regulation of health claims for genetic tests and the need for fully informed consent to genetic research projects. She led GeneWatch UK’s successful campaign for innocent people’s records to be removed from the UK police’s National DNA Database and now runs a global project seeking safeguards for privacy and human rights for forensic DNA databases around the world.
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Mark Wandersee

Mark Wandersee co-hosts “Healing Journeys” a weekly internet radio show with Jaentra Green Gardener on www.SQR.FM. In 2000, they founded the non-profit Healing Hands Network to support healing coaches and provide healing touch to people in need. He’s a family caregiver, trained educator, public speaker, and healing coach. His involvement in Caregiver issues and Long-Term Care includes advocacy, direct care, family and resident council facilitation, legislative activities, stakeholder groups, staff in-services, client coaching, and training industry professionals and state health department surveyors. He’s a Certified Eden Alternative Associate. He’s the past Executive Director and board member of the Minnesota-based ElderCare Rights Alliance, a non-profit advocacy and rights organization. He’s authored numerous publications relating to care and protection of elders. He’s worked closely with senior management in the public sector, privately-held companies, and Fortune 100 corporations.
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Benjamin Ward

Benjamin Ward serves as the CEO and as a Director of Canadian Cannabis Corporation. He is a management professional with significant experience in infrastructure development and capital markets. Prior to founding Canadian Cannabis Corp. in 2014, he worked for the previous six years in business development for the Keevil family, the founders of Teck Resources, Canada's largest diversified resource company. In that capacity, he worked in development of projects in Vietnam, throughout Canada and other venture capital investments. He holds a BA (honors), MBA and PMP (Project Management Professional designation).
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Catherine Ward-Griffin

Catherine Ward-Griffin, RN, PhD, is a Professor and Chair of Graduate Programs (Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, University of Western Ontario), and as a Scientist (Lawson Health Research Institute) in London, Ontario. Working in the areas of caregiving, health promotion, gender and social policy, her research focuses on relationships between formal and informal systems of care and relationships among health care providers, older adults and their families in home care and long-term care settings. Using a critical theoretical lens, she is particularly interested in the blurring of boundaries between paid and unpaid care work. She is currently studying the experiences and health effects of double-duty caregiving—those women and men who provide care at work and at home to older relatives. She’s received peer-reviewed funding from various national funding agencies. Findings of her research have been widely published in gerontology and nursing research journals. View Guest page

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Tom Warren

Tom Warren is a former member of the Peel Regional Police Service where he served in the Intelligence Bureau before his election to the Police Association. He comes from a long line of police personnel within his family, which includes his grandfather, father, mother, and two older brothers.
He is an IT Network and Internet security specialist, as well as a data recovery and computer forensic investigator. He’s trained and assisted all levels of law enforcement in dealing with online crime. He was a pioneer in the development of information security best practices He’s currently a professor of information security at Conestoga College in Kitchener Ontario Canada. In 1997, he founded the company, Net-Patrol, which is dedicated to information security and data forensics. It’s internationally networked from Canada, the US, Australia, and Europe.
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Isaac Weinroth

Isaac Weinroth is the Executive Director of One Kenton Retirement Residence, http://www.onekenton.ca/. Since the age of 13, when he first began volunteering at a renowned Geriatric Health Centre of Excellence, he’s made it his personal mission to put the tender loving care into long-term care. He possesses exceptional skills and passion for serving the needs of seniors, as well as over 23 years of combined experience in the field of Gerontology and Long Term Care, Mental Health and Developmental Services. He holds a Master of Health Sciences in Health Administration from the University of Toronto as well as a Combined Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Gerontology and Economics with a minor in Religious Studies from McMaster University.
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Pat Weller

Pat Weller’s major activity for the past 20 years has been establishing and helping to run NeighbourLink Northumberland, http://www.neighbourlinknorthumberland.ca/, whereby 15 local churches of 11 different denominations work together to handle requests for assistance of many types and from many kinds of people. Her awards include the Ontario Medal of Citizenship, Rotary’s Paul Harris Award, and the Town of Cobourg Volunteer of the Year. She started a Milk & Meat program for Food Banks to encourage more protein to be included in hand-out packages for persons in need of a healthy meal. She helps young children with their reading, or by reading to children, in schools. She’s Secretary to the newly formed Cobourg Museum Foundation. She’s a Team Member assisting with distribution of financial aid to people in financial crisis. She also supports an agency which specializes in assisting underprivileged families. She grew up in the UK and left school early for family economic reasons.
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Mickey Wener

Mickey Wener is a registered dental hygienist and holds the Masters degree in Education. She’s an educator at the University of Manitoba’s School of Dental Hygiene and Faculty of Dentistry. She’s the holder of a prestigious research grant. She’s received numerous awards for her teaching and health promotion work. She’s focused on reaching out to under-served populations through community-based programs. She’s spearheaded legislative change in Manitoba to increase the potential for public access to dental hygiene care. Recently, family caregiving entered her personal life. She supports her aging parents who live far away with her sister.
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Peter Whitaker

Peter Whitaker is the president and owner of http://www.thehazefm.ca/. He arrived in Canada with his family on a boat from Scotland in 1963. Even though he was only 6 years old it took him only a few short weeks to figure out what a nickel, dime and quarter was. While not a great student in school he was always focused on being an entrepreneur. While holding down jobs, he says, “I don't think I ever stopped dreaming about what I could do out in the world with some of my ideas”. Successes and failures follow most people who want to work for themselves. “I had both”, he says, “and I wonder if I had concentrated on one thing where I might be today". The measure of success is not only how we've done financially but in what we have achieved. “I have two great kids and a grandson” he says, and that “3 players I have coached over the years are in the NHL”. He adds that “I've been the first to do several things in my life and my business today is unique and keeps me very busy”.
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Rochelle Wilner

Rochelle Wilner has held many positions with B’nai B’rith Canada, for which she served as National President for three years. She’s long been interested in issues affecting the community, such as education. She’s been active in programs for combating anti-Semitism, along with all forms of discrimination and hate. She’s worked with many multicultural, ethnic and community groups to encourage and promote mutual understanding, co-operation and partnership. She’s served on many anti-hate and Human Rights advisory committees. She’s a highly sought-after speaker. She’s the recipient of various awards for her efforts on behalf of the Jewish community and Canadian social justice. Her awards include the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal. She’s a certified teacher in the province of Ontario with additional qualifications in special education. In 2008, she was a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada in the federal election. View Guest page

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Jim Wilson

Jim Wilson is President and founder of the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation, is himself a victim of Lyme disease and is the father of victims of Lyme disease. He’s been involved in networking with Lyme victims and providing them with scientific information for over 15 years. His background in the investigation of medical malpractice and legal liability has given him insight into medical research. In the medical research on Lyme disease he found conflict of evidence and conflict of interest. Both of these, he says, are rife within the medical industry. View Guest page

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Robert S. Wilson, PhD,

Robert S. Wilson, PhD, is the senior neuropsychologist of the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, http://www.rush.edu/rumc/page-1099611539759.html, having been with the center since its inception in 1985. He is a professor in the Departments of Neurological Sciences and Psychology at Rush University Medical Center, and he directs the section of cognitive neuroscience within the Department of Neurological Sciences. He earned his bachelor's degree in history and political science in 1970 from Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio; his master's degree in psychology in 1973 from Akron University in Akron, Ohio; and his doctorate in clinical psychology in 1976 from Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich. From 1976-78, he was a postdoctoral fellow in clinical neuropsychology in the Department of Psychology at Rush University Medical Center, and he has been on faculty of the Department of Psychology since 1976 and the Department of Neurological Sciences since 1993. View Guest page

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Tim Windle

Tim Windle lives in Langley, British Columbia. He’s the biological father of 2 daughters, of which the youngest, 28, is affected by FASD. He and his wife of 20 years, Barb, have experienced the many challenges, such as obstacles and lack of support for raising an FASD-affected daughter. In dealing with a system that does not have the understanding required to adequately support his daughter and others like her, he’s become an outspoken and strong advocate for her. To fill the gap in services, he partnered with Jessica Hutton Rantala to create a proposal to the Government of British Columbia for a new system. After months of negotiations, the proposal was accepted and supported by 4 different government agencies which, for the first time ever, worked together as a team. Staff were trained and hired and the program opened to 3 young women on December1, 2014
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Sara Winter

Sara Winter has a twelve year-old nephew on the autism spectrum. She’s been his aide at school for a decade. She’s the mom of two boys, one with ADHD, anxiety and celiac disease. She’s passionate about creating social, recreational and creative opportunities for underestimated kids. She’s been trained in key therapies. She created squag.com, a website that encourages mindfulness, self-reflection and original thinking for kids of 8+ with autism. Her parent/child communication system SquagpadTM is now being tested. She writes for The Huffington Post Canada, Autism Speaks Canada, Friendship Circle International, The Autism File Global, and Autism Aspergers Digest. View Guest page

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Stuart Wittenstein

Dr Stuart Wittenstein is an experienced teacher and administrator in programs for children who are blind or visually impaired. He’s in his 15th year as superintendent of the California School for the Blind. He’s president of the Council of Schools for the Blind, a national organization of superintendents of special schools for blind learners. He’s co-editor of the textbook “Collaborative Assessment: Working with Students Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired”. He’s the chair of the Editorial Advisory Committee of the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. A strong advocate for Braille literacy, he’s taught Braille at Hunter College and Teachers College, Columbia University. He’s a major writer about specialized services for visual impairments. He’s a past president of the Division on Visual Impairments of the Council for Exceptional Children. In 1994 he received the division’s Outstanding Dissertation of the Year award. In 2006 he received the division’s Distinguished Service Award.
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Dr. Eileen Wolkstein

Dr. Eileen Wolkstein completed her PhD and graduate education in Rehabilitation Counseling at New York University, where she’s worked since 1981. For thirty years she was a research scientist and adjunct professor in the Rehabilitation Counseling Department. Her research was funded by agencies such as the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services, Rehabilitation Services Administration, and NIDRR. Her work experience includes the Division of Rehabilitation Counseling for the State of New Jersey and Director of the Vocational Rehabilitation Department at NY Beth Israel Medical Center where she established the department in the first Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program, working closely with the founders, and the first comprehensive alcohol treatment program. She’s published extensively and been a consultant at the national and state level.
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Jan Wong

Jan Wong is a third-generation Canadian who grew up in Montreal speaking English, some French and zero Chinese. In 1972, she traveled alone to the People's Republic of China. At 19, she talked her way into Peking University, becoming the first of two Westerners to study in China during the Cultural Revolution, a tale she recounts in ‘Red China Blues, My Long March from Mao to Now’, http://www.janwong.ca/redchinablues.html. She became a journalist in 1979 as the first news assistant for The New York Times bureau in Beijing. In 1981, after graduating with a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, she became a staff reporter at The Gazette in Montreal and, later, The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail. She’s the recipient of numerous US and Canadian awards. She’s currently a columnist for Toronto Life magazine, a professor in journalism at St. Thomas University and a columnist for the Halifax Chronicle Herald.
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Rhonda Workman

Rhonda Workman is Head Trainer for Hearing Ear Dogs and Special Skills Dogs of Canada, Lions Foundation of Canada. She graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Science Degree. She’s always loved animals and so, after graduation, she worked at the Guelph Humane Society. After that, she started at Lions Foundation Dog Guides. There she began in the Puppy Program, whelping and caring for puppies until they were old enough to be placed with foster families. She also guided the foster families with their puppies. Her next step was to become an Apprentice Hearing Ear Dog trainer, and she also worked with Special Skills dogs. Then she became Head Trainer of the Hearing Ear Dogs and Special Skills Dogs training programs. She lives happily with her wonderful daughter, cat and the best dog ever, her Australian Cattle Dog.
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John Wunderlich

John Wunderlich is an independent information and privacy consultant in Toronto. His background in privacy includes protecting employee data for a Canadian payroll and HR outsourcer, protecting patient data for an Ontario health agency, and being a senior policy advisor to the Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. John's current clients' concerns involve health records in a variety of contexts. John serves as a privacy member of the Ontario Cancer Research Ethics Board, and continues to write, speak, and teach on privacy related issues for public and private sector audiences across Canada. He describes himself as a middle-aged guy with chronic health issues, including Type II diabetes, who’s active in a political party.
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Joel Yanofsky

Joel Yanofsky, http://Joelyanofsky.com, is the author of the essay collection ‘Homo Erectus: And Other Popular Tales of True Romance’, the novel ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, and the biography ‘Mordecai & Me: An Appreciation of a Kind’, which won the Mavis Gallant Non-fiction Prize and The Canadian Jewish Book Award. His most recent book is the memoir ‘Bad Animals: A Father’s Accidental Education in Autism’, which won the 2011 Mavis Gallant Non-Fiction Prize and was shortlisted for the B.C. National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. He’s a regular book reviewer for The Montreal Gazette and has won two National Magazine Awards as well as The Malahat Review’s Creative Non-fiction prize. He’s written for a variety of publications, including Canadian Geographic, Walrus, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, The Village Voice, Reader’s Digest, and The New York Times. View Guest page

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Melanie York

Melanie York
Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease in September 2008, Melanie left her position as Executive Producer at YTV in February 2009. She no longer has the use of her arms and has a full-time caregiver to help her with daily activities. She is working to increase awareness of the disease.
She holds the ECE degree from Ryerson University in Toronto. She began her career as an educator working with pre-school children. She then taught English as a Second Language in the community college system for six years. She transferred her child-care skills to the television world when she began her second career producing award-winning Public Service Announcements on bullying. Her strong research background was called upon when she worked on animated stories for Street Kids International. This work of hers was translated into numerous languages and globally distributed. She also developed programs for UNICEF and then moved to YTV where she worked as a producer for 12 years.
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Ma’n H. Zawati

Ma’n H. Zawati, LLB, LLM, lawyer, is Academic Coordinator of the Centre of Genomics and Policy at McGill University, www.genomicsandpolicy.org. An Associate Member of the Biomedical Ethics Unit at McGill University, his research focuses on legal and ethical aspects of biobanking and duties of healthcare professionals. He’s published widely on genomic databases, return of research results/incidental findings in genomic research, legal liability of physicians, and closure of biobanks. He’s presented widely on these topics and is a frequent guest lecturer at universities. He’s a lecturer at the University of Montreal, having taught Biological Sciences Law and Civil Liability courses. He’s Chief Tutor of the SGS Ethical Issues in Genetics at McGill University¹s Faculty of Medicine. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Bioethics Society, representing Eastern Canada (Quebec) and is a legal representative on the research ethics committee of the Montreal General Hospital.
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Paul Zook

Paul Zook was born in and has lived in Lethbridge, Alberta, all his life. Since 1978, he’s been a Power Electrician for the City of Lethbridge. In the same year he married Kim. They have daughters Nicole and Kaeley. In 1989 Kim was diagnosed with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. She’s now confined to a wheelchair, has no use of her left arm and only limited use of her right arm. He’s been her full-time caregiver throughout. Her care has been a challenge but, he stresses, her fantastic attitude since the day she was diagnosed has made it all so much easier. Our biggest obstacle, he says, has always been the costs associated with being disabled. He notes that, over the 20 years, so very little in the way of treatment has been offered to her. Chronic cerebro-spinal venous insufficiency treatment is the first thing that seemed to offer some hope. She wanted to try it and, as her caregiver and husband, he says, he felt he must try to give her that chance. And that’s what they did.
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